The 12 bulk drug units which have been issued closure orders by the Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board (APPCB) have approached the appellate authority on Wednesday appealing against the PCB’s orders and have urged to revoke the orders as most of the companies have installed zero process liquid discharge effluent treatment systems in all the units.

But APPCB had contended that though these industries have installed the advanced pollution treatment systems with zero discharge liquid pollution, the systems so installed do not have enough capacity to handle heavy pollution loads in proportionate with their product expansions. The PCB is also of the view that most of these zero pollution discharge systems are either malfunctioning or in some cases totally non-functional.

The pollution control board authorities disclosed that the Appellate Authority, in its earlier orders issued December 12, 2011 had stated that industries should approach the APPCB with all the required data whenever they wanted to manufacture unapproved products or increase production capacity so that the APPCB could be satisfied that the changes would not increase the pollution load.

“As these industries have not followed the guide lines of the appellate authority and had been continuously violating the pollution control norms despite warnings we have issued the closure orders based on recommendations of the task force committee,” informed a PCB source.

The APPCB maintains that all the 12 erring units in Medak and Ranga Reddy have been issued closure orders and have been asked to stop all their production activities with effect from July 23. The PCB had also made it clear that the industries should not commence any new batches without its permission.

Sources state that the pharma units are trying to get a meeting with the APPCB task force as per the provisions so that they are allowed to operate again after furnishing bank guarantees along with affirmations that they will comply with the APPCB norms hereafter. The units are also pleading that zero process liquid discharge systems ensure that no polluted water is released.