ANNOUNCEMENTS
Panipat Textile Cluster is no doubt a significant contributor to the state’s economy and an employment generator for a large number of people, but it has too often come to be characterized by large volumes of water consumption and polluter of ground and surface water bodies including Yamuna. Panipat has repeatedly scored a CEPI score of above 70 indicating it’s a Critically Polluted Area, has been profiled as an Over Exploited region by Central Ground Water Board due to progressive decline in groundwater level. The National Water Quality Monitoring Program has recognized Panipat as a hotspot for high ammonical nitrogen level contributing significantly to the rising levels of total ammonical nitrate and foam in Yamuna River. The water requirement of textile industry is projected to increase in the coming years. It’s well known that certain processes in textiles includes a lot of chemical applications and water is used at every stage for application and removal of those chemicals to make product ready for next process. So, amidst this reality of growing water pollution, eminent scarcity of water and inherent water intensive nature, the cluster is also facing stringent compliance demands from regulatory authorities like CPCB, CGWB on water extraction, use and effluent discharge, international buyers are imposing stricter environmental norms and higher quality standards at competitive price. Consequently, the industry is facing higher input cost in times when cost competitiveness is essential for survival. To address this situation Solidaridad has joined hands with industry and CPCB to prioritize resource efficiency by addressing three key areas- a) Pollution reduction at source via proper chemical selection, handling and process improvement b) End of Pipe Solutions via augmenting, upgrading & monitoring ETP c) Water Management via reuse and recycle. The tools through which the above priority areas will be realized are Chemical Management System (CMS), BMP (Best Management Practices), BMT (Bare Minimum Technology).
Keywords- Panipat Textile Cluster, Water Pollution, Textile Effluents, Resource Efficiency.
