Gurgaon: A jeans-dyeing unit in the city has allegedly continued to operate despite repeated enforcement action.Trilok Dyeing in Rahaka was sealed three times, but was still found operational, a complaint has claimed. According to the complaint — filed by Delhi-based environmental activist Varun Gulati with Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) — environmental compensation of Rs 1.6 crore had been imposed on the unit by the board on one occasion.The matter has reached the vigilance wing of HSPCB, with its chief vigilance officer (CVO) seeking an action-taken report from the board’s member secretary. A letter issued by HSPCB CVO Krishan Kumar to HSPCB member secretary on Jan 21 refers to the complaint regarding the “continued illegal operation” of Trilok Dyeing, Gurgaon (north).The complaint, receivedon Jan 6, had sought an action-taken report from the concerned officer. The documents available do not include the underlying sealing orders or the environmental compensation order and these details would therefore need to be matched with HSPCB records before being treated as established enforcement history.The CVO’s communication, however, establishes that the allegation of continued operation despite previous enforcement was formally taken up by the vigilance wing and referred to the board’s member secretary for an action-taken report.“We will look into the case,” said an HSPCB official.The complaint raises questions about what happens after a unit is ordered to close or physically sealed: whether the premises are monitored, whether power supply is disconnected where required, whether the unit is prevented from restarting and whether repeat violations lead to effective prosecution and recovery of environmental compensation.The case puts the focus on the gap that can exist between an enforcement order on paper and actual compliance on the ground.Gulati’s RTI queries on jeans-washing and dyeing units also point to the enforcement challenges faced by the pollution control authorities. In response to an RTI application, HSPCB said it had inspected six jeans-washing units in Kharkhoda after receiving a complaint alleging illegal operations. The board found violations at all six units and recommended closure action against five, while a notice was issued to the sixth.The inspection records show that the violations went beyond the absence of statutory permissions.At Blue Fab, HSPCB recorded that the unit was operating without consent to establish or consent to operate and was bypassing trade effluent generated during jeans washing into a local drain leading towards Mungeshpur drain and ultimately Yamuna.At Guru Ji Enterprises, the board found no CTE/CTO, no effluent treatment plant and a bypass arrangement through which untreated trade effluent could be discharged directly into a sewer.At RS Washing, the unit was found operating without CTE/CTO and without an installed ETP, with a bypass arrangement for direct discharge of untreated effluent into a sewer.The Kharkhoda RTI response also showed that even after closure was recommended against five units, the process was not complete at the time of the response. HSPCB said closure action was under process and that documents relating to electricity disconnection were not available with the regional office.For dyeing and washing units, the issue is particularly significant because the processes generate trade effluent containing dyes and other pollutants. Any bypass of treatment systems can allow untreated wastewater to enter drains and, eventually, connected water bodies.
