ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT IN MEDAK AND RANGAREDDY

CPCB in association with the Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board inspected number of industries in Medak and Rangareddy districts of Andhra Pradesh to verify the compliance of standards. The basic organic chemical industries in this region have been given a programme to segregate their effluent streams in terms of non-degradable/toxic effluents, biodegradable effluents and inorganic streams. This approach has led to segregation of inorganic streams and recovery of salts. Some industries are exploring the options for elimination of inorganic streams by employing process modifications. Highly organic/toxic streams, which cannot be treated by the conventional biological treatment, have been isolated which are either thermally destructed or being stored for disposal in secured landfill, as soon as it is made ready. Therefore, only those streams which are biodegradable, are being sent to the three Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs) in this region. In order to stabilise the functioning of CETPs, influent standards for CETP have been fixed and all the industries have to comply these standards. This has led to adoption of pre-treatment by all the member industries and setting up of full fledged effluent treatment plants by large industries. The sewage of local area is also being collected and treated along with the industrial effluents of CETPs to enhance the efficiency of biological treatment.

In addition to above, individual and collective efforts are undertaken by the industries and industrial associations/members of CETP. The State Government is supplying potable water to the effected villages and the effected lakes in the drainage basin are being reclaimed back to the original status.