Joint monitoring report on industrial clusters of Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh (December 27, 2023 to January 17, 2024) in the matter of Niramaya Jan Utthan Sansthan Vs State of Uttar Pradesh & Others.

The petitioner raised the issue of industrial pollution in district Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh for generating polluting substances which are affecting the composition of atmosphere, soil and water; and that, the villagers are dying due to various diseases.

Discharge of untreated effluent by pharmaceutical industries was observed by the joint committee. There was periodic purging of effluents having high pollution load from Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) industrial units into recipient drains. Poor operation and maintenance of ETPs by industries discharging effluent resulting in non compliance with effluent discharge norms and deterioration in water quality of recipient drains/water bodies was also observed. There was unscientific disposal of plastic waste (46.79 MT/day), boiler ash (195.52 MT/day) and ETP sludge (23.80 MT/day).

Out of the 32 industrial units, only three had installed Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) for treating domestic sewage. Despite the requirement outlined in the Consent To Operate (CTO) or Consent To Establish (CTE) issued to all 32 industrial units, only three have complied by installing STPs. The 1042 page report was filed by the joint committee comprising City Magistrate, Muzaffarnagar; Central Pollution Control Board; Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) - Regional office, Lucknow; Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board and Uttar Pradesh Groundwater Department.