The National Green Tribunal’s (NGT) southern zone bench in Chennai has directed the Tamil Nadu government to constitute a committee to recommend the minimum distance to be maintained while establishing educational institutions near industries. The government must examine the recommendations of the committee and issue necessary instructions within six months, it ordered.
Judicial member Pushpa Sathyanarayana and expert member Satyagopal Gorlapati directed the Chief Secretary to ensure the committee comprised of the school education and higher education secretaries, apart from experts in the fields of pollution and public health. They also called for a report indicating the distance criteria to be fixed by the government along with a copy of the committee’s recommendations.
The orders were passed while disposing of a case filed by a private school management complaining about pollution caused by two foundries at Kurumbapalayam village near Pollachi in Coimbatore district. On perusal of records, the tribunal found the two industries were functioning since the 1990s, whereas the educational institution was established next to them only in 2011. The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) had initially taken action against the foundries on the basis of complaints lodged against them. However, the foundries had complied with all conditions prescribed by the TNPCB and the emissions from them were well within the norms prescribed by the board. Yet, the adjacent school had been complaining about pollution due to harmful dust particles being carried their way by the winds.
