The Madras High Court came down heavily on 44 dyeing and bleaching units in Tirupur, Tamil Nadu, which have been ordered to close down for having failed to establish effluent treatment plants (ETPs). The court had, in March 1997, ordered all dyeing units in the area to install ETPs before June 16, 1997. While the court granted some more time to the units where work on the establishment of ETPs was in progress, it ordered the closure of the units that had not started any work for installing ETPs. The State Pollution Control Board submitted that all these units were now running without its consent. It told the court that the owners of the 44 dyeing units would not take steps to establish ETPs unless they were closed.