With some Central industries discharging their effluents into major rivers of the State, the Odisha Government has asked them to develop their wastewater treatment facilities. This was stated by Forest and Environment Minister, Mr Debi Prasad Mishra, while replying a question in the Assembly. “The State Pollution Control Board has already served show-cause notices to three Central industrial units as their waste treatment facilities are not adequate,” Mr Mishra said. Of the 11 units, industries such as Nilachal Ispat Nigam Limited at Kalinga Nagar in Jajpur district, Rourkela Steel Plant in Sundergarh district and IFFCO at Paradip in Jagatsinghpur district, have been issued show-cause notice for not adhering to the pollution control norms, the Minister said. While NINL and RSP discharge wastewater in Brahmani river, IFFCO's effluents go in river Mahanadi, he said. This apart, the Minister also admitted that the leakage in the ash ponds of Nalco and NTPC's thermal power generation units at Kanhia in Angul district have created pollution concerns frequently. On NTPC's frequent ash pond leakage, he said the Central Public Sector Undertaking had assured the State Government to implement recommendations of a team of National Institute of Technology, Rourkela. Paradip MLA and former minister Mr Damodar Rout raised the question on drawing of Indian Oil Corporation Limited's pipeline from Haldia in West Bengal to Paradip in Odisha. Mr Rout also wanted to know whether the government had any plan to undertake an Environment Impact Assessment study of industries through an independent body instead of accepting reports submitted by them.