Mumbai, June 6 — Clean up your act was the state’s message to industries on World Environment Day. “We are only expecting industries to treat their effluents, use water and electricity judiciously and not burden the environment,” Chief Minister Ashok Chavan said on Saturday. He was speaking at the inauguration of the three-day environment film festival organised by the Environment Department at Y.B. Chavan Centre. “If we find industries are not abiding by pollution laws they will have to face action,” Chavan said. The state also announced the ‘Vasundhara Award’ for environment consciousness given to industries, municipal councils and corporations. The state government recently instructed industrial units to declare their activity, products, effluents generated and disposal procedures online to help the state compile a database and monitoring the industries later. Chavan said the Environment Department should make industry self-audits compulsory to keep a check on pollution mainly of water and air. “Along with industries, municipal bodies also need to take steps to improve the quality of water, sewerage and garbage management,” Chavan said. Industrial pollution is one of the biggest challenges the state is facing with the central government identifying eight areas including Navi Mumbai, Dombivli and Chandrapur as critically polluted areas where there is a stay on environmental clearances for development projects.
This will help civic bodies prepare environment status reports that will be scrutinised by a sub-committee headed by Revenue Minister Narayan Rane.