Foreword
Western Rajasthan lies in the well known Thar desert and is a water scarce area. Due to inadequate availability of raw materials and transport facilities, industrial development in the area is far behind the average national rate. However, dyeing and printing of textile being a traditional industry of Rajasthan and due to the heavy demand in the country and outside of cloth printed in Rajasthan and liberal policies of Rajasthan Government to encourage industrial growth with a view to provide employment to the people of this part of the State, a good number of textile industries have come up i.n the area. As textile processing requires good amount of water, these industries are invariably situated near river banks where transportation facilities also exist. As a result, in Pali, Jodhpur and Balotra towns, clusters of manual processing, dyeing and printin~ industries have come up. Waste water discharge from these textile units has caused degradation of water quality in the area. Local people are facing problem in obtaining water for drinking and irrigation since ground water

is also significantly polluted in the area. The problem has attracted the attention of media and also of the Central and State Governments.

The present study was undertaken by the Central Board in 1987 to evaluate the extent of problem in the area and to find out the factors responsible for the creation of the problem and its continuance. The study has also looked into the possible ways how the problem can be tackled

It is expected that the report will help the Rajasthan State authorities in formulating remedial measures, The report may also prove useful to various other agencies which may have to deal similar problems of surface and ground water pollution.