There are at least 800 dyeing, bleaching and fabric printing units in Erode, Komarapalayam and Pallipalayam areas according to Association of All Textile Processes, Erode and Namakkal districts. The state government is planning to explore the possibility of replicating the zero liquid discharge formula and Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) for the dyeing and bleaching units functioning in Erode, an attempt to prevent river Cauvery going the Noyyal way.

State minister for Environment and Pollution Control, Thoppu ND Venkatachalam, reviewed the situation in Erode and Namakkal districts on Sunday morning along with senior officials from the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board and respective district administrations. As of now, they are floating a proposal for the installation of a CETP in Erode and another one along Komarapalayam and Pallipalayam near Namakkal district. The stakeholders of dyeing and bleaching units also participated in a joint sitting with the officials during which it was decided that the state would release an interest-free financial package for the setting up of the said CETP units.

Environment and Pollution Control would be conducting the review meeting to analyse the situation and hold a discussion with both stake holders and officials to devise a solution to prevent further pollution of River Cauvery. The major concern pertains to small and medium units that cannot set up their own effluent treatment plants. They plan to take the proposal to chief minister J Jayalalithaa who will make the final announcement.

According to the minister, dyeing, bleaching and tannery units that are yet to install treatment plants and are flushing out effluents into the drains that reach the rivers would be streamlined by setting up these units. Most treatment plants would require large land and the revenue departments in Erode and Namakkal have been asked to survey the availability of land soon.

PCB in Erode have taken action against polluting industrial units and so far 351 illegal units functioning out of sheds were razed down during the last two years. They also added that 50 tanneries, 43 dyeing units and 92 bleaching units that had taken permission for operations but lacked acceptable effluent disposal methods were sealed during this same period.

There has also been a proposal to club the CETP proposal along with that of the already announced industrial cluster announced by Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) ministry so that the units are relocated to the cluster with a CETP installed to cater to them.

Either the cluster will be finalized as the location for CETP or any other feasible option is being planned and the government has expressed willingness to help financially as it did in Tirupur.

The basic objective of the review was to explore the feasibility of setting up CETPs to streamline the operations of the dyeing and bleaching units without affecting the environment.