CAQM Drive: 17 of 35 Industrial Units in Haryana’s Nuh Found Violating Pollution Norms

Chandigarh, Sep 8 (KNN) Seventeen of 35 industrial units inspected in Haryana’s Nuh were found violating pollution control norms during a “special” enforcement drive conducted by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), the Union Environment Ministry said.

The inspections were carried out on Thursday by eight flying squad teams under CAQM’s “Operation Clean Air”, in coordination with the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) and the state administration, the Hindustan Times reported.

The violations included fugitive dust emissions, use of unapproved diesel generator (DG) sets and fuels, and absence of air emission monitoring systems required under consent-to-operate (CTO) conditions.

Ten units were found fully compliant, while one was partially compliant and seven were non-operational during the inspection.

Inspectors also found defective wet scrubbers, non-functional or poorly maintained electrostatic precipitators (ESPs), inadequate stacks or chimneys and insufficient stack heights for boilers and thermic fluid heaters.

Several units lacked basic dust-control measures. “Several units had uncovered conveyor belts, no water sprinkling and dust suppression arrangements undertaken at the sites, including insufficient boundary windbreakers and unpaved internal roads, leading to dust adversely affecting the localised ambient air quality,” a senior HSPCB official said on an anonymous basis, as quoted by HT.

Other violations included outdated DG sets, use of wood and other unauthorised fuels, missing Online Continuous Emission Monitoring Systems (OCEMS), and operation of boilers or thermic fluid heaters without applicable CTO coverage. Dense smoke and fumes were also observed at some units.

HSPCB officials said notices are being issued to the non-compliant units based on the inspection findings.

(KNN Bureau)