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It is submitted that the industry is a small scale orange category unit and was granted consent to operate under the Water Act, 1974 vide no. CTOW/Fresh/LDH2/2023/22042989 dated 04/06/2023 valid upto 30/09/2027 and under the Air (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 vide no. CTOA/Fresh/LDH2/2023/21436104 dated 04/06/2023 valid upto 30/09/2024 for the manufacturing Turning of Aluminium Alloys @ 4850 MT/year.
Further, the industry has obtained 'Consent to Operate' under Air (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 through auto renew mode vide no. CTO/Renewal/LDH2/2024/27354438 dated 14.11.2024 valid upto 14.11.2027.
To verify the complaint and assess environmental compliance, the industry was visited by the officer of the Board on 22.02.2025 and it was observed as under:
1. The industry was found in operation at the time of the visit.
2. The industry has installed one Aluminium scrap melting furnace (6 TPH) with a cyclone separator, followed by a baghouse filter and a water scrubber. The water scrubber was found defective during the visit. No U-tube manometer was installed on the baghouse filter to monitor its operational status.
3. The industry is not following the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) prescribed by the Board.
4. The condition of the baghouse filter was very poor.
5. Poor housekeeping was observed in the entire unit, particularly in the handling of scrap, slag, and hazardous waste. Burnt scrap was found lying in the open. Significant spillages of slag and hazardous waste were found near the APCD.
6. The industry has not constructed a hazardous waste storage room as required under environmental norms.
7. The industry has installed a new Aluminium melting furnace (8 TPH) without obtaining prior NOC from the Board and without obtaining Environmental Clearance under EIA Notification. However, the furnace has not been commissioned yet.
8. Hazardous waste (Category 35.1) was found to be disposed of illegally without proper storage arrangements.
9. A septic tank for the treatment of domestic effluent exists, but it has no proper outlet and is built on kachha (unlined) soil, which poses a risk of groundwater contamination.
10. The bag filters of the APCD have never been changed since its commissioning (03.05.2023), indicating a severe lapse in environmental compliance.
11. The industry is using furnace oil as a fuel in both furnaces, which is not permitted under the fuel policy.
Accordingly, the industry was given personal hearing before the Senior Environmental Engineer, Zonal Office-I, Ludhiana on 26.08.2025 w.r.t. show cause notice for cancellation of consent to operate under the Air (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 and show cause notice for violation of provisions under the Hazardous and other Waste (Management & Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016, wherein, it was decided as under:
1. The industry shall submit Bank Guarantee of Rs. 1,00,000/- as an assurance to comply with Water Act, 1974, Air Act, 1981 and Hazardous and other Waste Rules, 2016, within 7 days.
2. The industry shall apply for varied consent under the Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 & Air (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, within 15 days.
3. The industry shall not dispose off its domestic effluent in an illegal manner at any point of time.
4. The industry shall operate the APCD regularly and efficiently so as to ensure no black smoke / emissions from chimney and achieve the emission standards prescribed by the Board at all the time.
5. The industry shall only use authorized fuel allowed by the Board and shall use only LSHS oil or LDO as fuel or liquid fuels provided by the certified companies by Govt. of India having sulphur content < 1.8% & shall comply with the provisions of the fuel policy issued vide no 10/64/2020-STE4/469 dated 04.10.2023.
6. The industry shall strictly ensure the compliance of the Hazardous and other Waste (Management & Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016 and all hazardous waste is lifted through authorized TSDF operator as per the manifest system.
7. The Environmental Engineer, Regional Office-2, Ludhiana shall visit the industry surprisingly within 15 days to verify the compliance of hearing decisions and submit report alongwith recommendations in the matter.
Now, the industry has applied for obtaining varied consent to operate under the Water Act, 1974 and Air Act, 1981 with requisite documents. The industry has deposited consent fee against the un-depreciated fixed assets of Rs. 473.27 Lacs as on 31/03/2025 as per CA Certificate dated 20/02/2026, which is adequate upto 31/12/2032 under both Acts, as per Board's Office Order dated 29/10/2018 after deducting NOC Regularization fee for increase in the fixed assets.
The industry was visited by the undersigned on 25.02.2026 and it was observed as under:
1. The industry was in operation during the visit.
2. The industry is engaged in manufacturing Turning of Aluminium Alloys @ 4850 MT/year by using raw material as Aluminium Scrap @ 4950 MT/year.
3. The industry has installed 01 no. LSHS fired Aluminum Scrap Melting Furnace of 6 TPH capacity.
4. The industry has also installed 01 no. Aluminium Scrap Melting Furnace (Stand By) of capacity 8 TPH.
5. The industry has installed cyclone separator followed by wet scrubber as APCD. The industry has submitted completion certificate for the same.
6. The industry is using LSHS which is permitted under the Fuel policy notified vide no. 10/64/2020-STE4/469 dated 04.10.2023 and the industry has provided a purchase bill of the same dated 06.02.2026.
7. There is no trade effluent generation and only domestic effluent is being discharged onto land for plantation after septic tank. The cooling water is being re-circulated.
8. The industry has installed 01 no. DG set of capacity 125 KVA equipped with canopy and adequate stack height.
9. The industry has submitted copy of revised building plan from the approved architect Sh. Mandeep Singh Saini, Competent Person of Director of Factories, Punjab.
10. The industry has submitted Bank Guarantee of Rs. 1,00,000/- vide bearing no. 034GT02253360002 dated 02.12.2025 valid upto 01.12.2026 as an assurance to comply with Water Act, 1974, Air Act, 1981 and Hazardous and other Waste Rules, 2016.
The industry has also submitted DTP certificate vide no. 89 dated 16.01.2023 mentioning that the site of the industry falls in Industrial Zone as per approved Master Plan, Ludhiana (2007-31).
In the subject cited case, the industry has mentioned ground water extraction @ 1.0 KLD. Considering 25 working days per month, ground water extraction will be 25 KL/month, which is not more than exempted quantity.
In view of above, it is recommended that 'Consent to Operate' under Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 may be granted upto 30/09/2032 with suitable conditions as per policy of the Board.
(Competency – Senior Environmental Engineer being small scale orange category unit).
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