The Textiles Ministry has urged the Ministry of Environment and Forests to review its proposal to mandate virtually to textile units to reduce their effluent discharge to zero, as most of the domestic processing industry is largely unorganized and consists of small and medium units. The proposed norms are inflexible in terms of capital investment and it would also have high recurring expenditure, it could lead to closure of many units.

Textiles Secretary SK Panda in his letter to the Ministry of Environment and Forests stated that the proposed standards are "too stringent" and it would make the zero liquid discharge commercially non-viable.

The secretary insisting on zero liquid discharge standards said that it will lead to closure of the industry and due to that people may lose their jobs.

The proposed standards seek to lay down zero liquid discharge for textile processing units where water discharge is greater than 25 KLD (kilolitres per day).

Speaking on the issue, the outgoing secretary Panda further said that the norms could be implemented in a phased manner.

The Textiles Ministry has held several meetings with the industry representatives, textile research associations and Indian Institute of Technology on the issue.

A committee has already been formed for studying the existing technologies of effluent treatment, he said.

In fact, in the short-term best available technology can be introduced and for the long-term R&D would be pursued for developing cleaner and more cost-effective options.

The domestic industry has also raised their concerns on the move and has requested to review the proposed environmental standards. India's share in global apparel and garment industry is only 3.8% and efforts should be put to increase this.