In Surat, few of the textile units, which were allegedly violating the rules by using waste fabric as fuel, have been issued notices by Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB).
As per reports, in the last two months, five dyeing and printing units were issued closure notices for allegedly using waste cloth as fuel, which causes air pollution.
Following surprise checking by GPCB team, it was found that several bundles of waste clothes were used by units to burn the fire in the chimney for steam to be used in various processes in the units.
According to officials, the company authorities failed to provide any explanation for their action and a closure notice was slapped on the unit.
As per officials, they have been receiving complaints of violation of pollution norms by some dyeing and printing units in Surat.
So far they carried out night checking at 15 dyeing and printing units, of which five were involved in using waste clothes instead of coal. The department has slapped closure notices on those companies.
As per the industry insiders, due to high prices of coal, which is between Rs. 10,000 and Rs. 14,000 per ton, the owners are using different means to reduce the production costs.
Generally, in a month, a mid-size textile unit spends around Rs. 1 crore to get steam from coal but using waste clothes, the cost comes to around Rs. 30-35 lakh.
