Industry body to build own treatment plant in Peenya

With the state government acceding to their plea and granting Rs 10 crore in the budget, the Peenya Industries Association will have its own Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP).

While the chief minister had offered the grant under the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), the CETP will be constructed by PIA, which wrote to the government about their intention to have the plant in Peenya.

PIA president Myladri Reddy M thanked the coalition government for paying heed to the demand. “Having the CETP at Peenya will be cost effective for the industries,” he said. “We’ll otherwise have to pay a huge amount to private parties in transporting effluent to a far-of location in Doddaballapura.”

Reddy said PIA had already finalised the Gujarat model of the CETP, though they are yet to work out the modalities.

He said Peenya is one of the biggest industrial areas in South Asia as it houses over 15,000 industries, ranging from electroplating, powder coating to garments, including dyeing units. It generates around 125 kilolitres of effluent daily, which is transported through private tankers to a plant in Doddaballapura.

“The industries pay Rs 4 to Rs 7 per litre to transport the effluent, which is expensive. Moreover, these treatment plants were probably treating just half the effluent and dumping the rest. If we have our own CETP, the cost for treating to be borne by each industry would be around 80-90 paise per litre,” added Reddy.

The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) had their small-scale CETP, which has become defunct now. Of the five acres of the urban eco-park that belongs to KSPCB, PIA’s CETP can be established on 20,000 sqft.

Reddy said the plant would cost Rs 25 crore, where PIA is looking to get the rest of the money from the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds of some of the companies.