Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs) in Gujarat are preparing suggestions for final draft of the Regulation of Common Effluent Treatment Plant Rules 2022 released by the Union ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC).
The ministry has vested powers in CETP operating agencies to take stringent action against non-compliant member units. The draft rules have incorporated provision for State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) to bring in new professional management in case of repeated violations by the CETP management.
However, voicing their resentment with the upper hand given to the PCB, a spokesperson for the Gujarat Chamber of Commerce held that “the clause to remove CETP management in case of lapses was unacceptable.”
He briefed that as per draft rules, the CETO operating agencies have the authority to access member industry premises, without notice, to collect water samples. The online continuous effluent monitoring system (OCEMS), if installed, shall also be accessible for cross-verification.
The spokesperson further briefed that CETP operating units can refuse to take the effluent from defaulting members and also cancel their membership. “However, the PCB’s sway over the CEPT will be resented by many,” added the GCC functionary.
