A high-level Inter-Ministerial Committee is being constituted for the revival of the knitwear cluster in Tirupur, Mr A. Sakthivel, President, Tirupur Exporters' Association said.
He said this on his return from Chennai and after attending a meeting convened to find a viable solution for reopening the dyeing units with the Textiles Secretary, Ms Rita Menon, and other officials in the Ministry of Textiles and Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board
The envisaged committee is to be headed by Ms Rita Menon. The other members include the Chief Secretary, Government of Tamil Nadu/Nominee, Secretary, Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, Secretary Environment, Ministry of Environment and Forests and the Joint Secretary, Ministry of Textiles Mr Srinivas.
Industry representatives include Mr Sakthivel and President of the Dyers Association of Tamil Nadu, Mr S. Nagaraj, and three other members from DAT.
Meanwhile, aggrieved farmers and environmentalist groups state that the suo motto decision on the part of the Textiles Secretary on the formation of a committee to discuss the issue when the matter is before the court would amount to ‘contempt of court'.
“It is contempt of Court and we will file a contempt petition again,” Mr Shankarnarayanan, an environmentalist and farmer belonging to Erode district told this correspondent
Speaking to Business Line from Bhubaneshwar, Mr Shankarnarayanan said, “no farmer or environmental group was consulted, when we are the aggrieved party.”
He alleged the Government of buying time, of supporting the industry without resolving the issue.
Citing a study/report, he said, the average TDS (total dissolved solids) continued to remain high, touching 2390 parts in June-July against the permissible 500. “How can this happen when the dyeing units have been ordered to shut operations by the Court until they achieve zero liquid discharge?' he asked and added that farmers in Erode district have called for a protest on July 27 to draw the attention of the Government to the plight of the Kalingarayan Canal, which was turning to be a discharge bed for the tanneries located alongside.
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