NEW DELHI: Noting groundwater contamination in an around the Sterlite Copper plant at Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu, the government on Monday told the Rajya Sabha that the analysis of samples from the unit showed the presence of heavy metals in water beyond permissible limit.
“The analysis of groundwater samples, from the Sterlite industrial unit, by the State Pollution Control Board shows presence of Iron, Lead, Fluoride, Cadmium, and Nickel more than the permissible limit of BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards),” said minister of state for water resources Arjun Ram Meghwal while referring to information received from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
He was responding to a Parliament Question, asked by the AIADMK member in the Upper House, Sasikala Pushpa Ramaswamy.
The residents of the area had protested against the proposed doubling of capacity of the Sterlite copper plant.
Asked about the environment ministry’s stand, an official said, “We have received a report of the TNPCB.
We have been examining it as the matter is sub judice.
We will strictly follow the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) notification, 2006 while firming up our stand.” The EIA, made under the Environment Protection Act, 1986, is considered a major tool for minimizing the adverse impact of industrialization on the environment.
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