Greens see red over polluted Kochi

KOCHI: Industrial effluents and increasing pollution have been choking life in Kochi. With no measures to bring down the rising level of pollution in Kochi, environmentalists are seeking to bring back the moratorium on industrial projects which was recently lifted.Kochi was included in the list of 43 critically polluted industrial clusters in the country by the Ministry of Environment and Forests. The city, with a Comprehensive Environmental Pollution Index (CEPI) of 75.08, has come in the hit-list owing to various parameters of pollution including water, air and land (ground water) pollution. According to the MoEF data, the city has a substantially high rate of air (57), water (64) and land (54) pollution.The MoEF arrived at the list of critically-polluted industrial clusters by adopting CEPI System of environmental assessment of 88 prominent industrial clusters across the country, evolved by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi.The 43 industrial clusters were chosen based on the environmental pollution index. Clusters with CEPI greater than 70 on a scale of 0 to 100 have been identified as critically polluted. Based on the Central Pollution Control Board’s identification of industrial clusters as critically or severely polluted, MoEF has also imposed a restriction on developmental projects for environmental clearance under EIA Notification. However in May 2011, the moratorium was lifted for Kochi.Stressing the need for urgent measures to salvage the city from increasing industrial pollution, environmentalists demand that the moratorium should be brought back. “There are currently no proper instruments to check pollution. Though moratorium has been lifted nothing has been done to bring down the pollution level,” said environmentalist Prof C M Joy. He pointed out that no standards have been set for checking new types of pollutants. “Certain standards should be set according to each industry. That has not been done. Even now, the industrial cluster in Kochi and Eloor-Edayar belt remains highly polluted. The testing centres too aren’t operating properly,” he said.