The pharmaceutical industry has demanded the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to exempt small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from installation of online monitoring system for effluents as that will add more burden on the effluent treatment costs of bulk drug production.

Earlier in February last year, the CPCB had directed the industries to install an online monitoring system in every unit for air emissions and liquid effluents discharged.

The CPCB had expressed the need to inculcate the habit of self- monitoring mechanism within the industrial units for complying the prescribed standards by the methods of installing online effluent and emission monitoring devices. Industries under 17 categories of highly polluting industries, common hazardous waste incinerators, biomedical waste incinerators and common effluents treatment plants (CETPs) operating in the state/UT are directed to install the online monitoring system for strengthening the monitoring and compliance through self regulatory mechanism. The online source and effluent monitoring systems need to be installed and operated by the developers and the industries on 'polluter pays principle'.

It is difficult for the SMEs to install online monitoring systems in their units as each online monitoring instrument costs around Rs.80 lakh to Rs.1 crore for a unit with single process emissions stack. Whereas in the case of chemical process industry, technically each processing block has independent stack based on the nature of gaseous emissions and safety considerations. Which means each process block can have multiple stack and it leads to an elaborate exercise of providing online monitoring for each stack involving substantial investment.

Considering the problem faced by pharmaceutical industry, Indian Drug Manufacturers' Association (IDMA) has submitted a representation to the chairman of CPCB, Delhi, demanding to exempt the industry from installing the online monitoring systems.

Yogin Majumdar, past president of IDMA says, “The SME's are the backbone and each industry already has the effluent plant for the treatment. Individual industries have also upgraded their effluent plant to the international standard by installing equipment like Reverse Osmosis (RO) and Multi Effect Evaporators (MEE) which cost around Rs.50 lakh per equipment. Now the pollution control board is asking to monitor it and the cost of online monitoring facility is not less than Rs.1 crore. We demand to make the effluent treatment cost effective.”

He further explained that the SMEs sent their effluents to CETP. Before sending to CETP the SMEs have to treat the effluents to such a level that effluent are fit for discharge into river or sea. The primary treatment are already done by industry and only after that the effluents are passed to CETP.

Appreciating the intention of self-monitoring compliance, the association opines it is not possible for each and every small and medium scale unit to set up the online monitoring systems for air emissions and liquid effluents discharged. At present, the effluents analysis data is regularly submitted to concerned state pollution control boards. As this is almost a continuous self monitoring procedure, bulk drug units and other industrial units sending effluents to CETPs may be exempted from online monitoring of effluents.