Shut since Dec 2018, MSMEs from leather industries & tanneries in UP still unclear about their future

Lucknow, July 31 (KNN) More than 400 tanneries in Kanpur and a number of leather industries are still waiting for state authorities’ permission to start their units again in the region which were closed back in December 2018 due to Kumbh Mela.

Closed since December 2018 before the start of Kumbh Mela, tannery units in Kanpur have not received any kind of directions from the authorities to reopen these industries, Taj Alam, President, Uttar Pradesh Leather Industries Association (UPLIA) told KNN India.

Rubbishing media claims on directives being issued for the reopening of tanneries, Alam claimed “Industries have not received any direction nor any indication from the responsible authorities to address this issue.”

Khan said, “CPCB gave notices prior to the Kumbh Mela, to shut down from 15 December 2018 to 15 March 2019. Even after the order, they closed one month ago. According to their norms, it went for four consecutive months rather than 3 scheduled months. This drive was not initiated through any means of written notice or information”.

Adding to the issue, the President added, “A press conference was held regarding it and within six months industries were directed to stop the operation of industries. After mid-march, they had to open but it did not happen and industrialists are still suffering. Any updates have not come yet from the government or the UPPCB. Moreover, not any possibility has been provided to reopen the leather and tanneries in Kanpur and Unnao districts. Other than the permanent employees, industrialists are bearing a heavy loss in their revenues. Employments to the people are some of the bulky results of the ignorance of responsible body”.

The combined value of Kanpur leather goods manufacturers, leather industry, including tanneries is nearby Rs 12,000 crore. In Kanpur and Unnao districts around millions are directly or indirectly employed through this. Total export from the cluster is worth Rs 6,000 crore which is exported to the Gulf, Europe, China and Iran.

An employee of Globe Leather, Kanpur said, “After the operations are shut down in these industries I have become unemployed and under loss. As from last more than 7 months, I do not have any job which has made the survival of my family really challenging”.

I can’t switch to another occupation because it needs capital to invest initially and in small scale business the flow of money is really slow. I am still paying my labor so that they should not shift to other occupation. I am waiting for the industry to reopen and when it will come into operation, I can get him back to work, he added.

The tanneries looking to reopen will have to satisfy environmental norms of National Green Tribunal (NGT) and UP Pollution Control Board (UPPCB), which will also, monitor the ground situation before issuing the final no objection certificate (NOC). Tanneries will be allowed to re-open only after they ensure that their effluents won't fall in river Ganga.

The state government had warned leather tanneries one month back against discharging the effluents and industrial waste in Ganga River.

He advised them to support the cause of preserving both Kanpur and the river. Adityanath had asked officials to engage experts from well-known institutions like IIT Kanpur and Banaras Hindu University in order to seek professional advice for waste management in urban centers.

Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board had given notices to the 400 tanneries in Kanpur with the order of closing between December 15, 2018, to March 15, 2019, to help the drive cleaner Ganga during the 2019 Kumbh Mela in Allahabad. (KNN/VS)