Vellore Citizens Welfare Forum appeals to Centre, State The Vellore Citizens Welfare Forum (VCWF) has appealed to the Centre and the Tamil Nadu government to sincerely and expeditiously implement all the directions of the Supreme Court, issued on August 28, 1996, on a writ petition filed by VCWF in respect of the pollution caused by tanneries in the five districts of Vellore, Erode, Dindigul, Tiruchi and Kancheepuram. The forum has made the appeal in letters sent to the President and the Prime Minister, the Minister of Environment and Forests, the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) and the Collector of Vellore. This action has been taken in the light of the fact that Vellore district remains on the list of seven critically polluting areas (CPA) in the country in which the Union Ministry of Environment has not lifted the moratorium on environmental clearance for industrial clusters. Quoting a report which appeared in The Hindu Business Line , dated January 12, 2014, the VCWF said in a release that according to a notification from the Environment Ministry, the CPCB conducted a survey of the CPAs between February and April 2013 to reassess the Comprehensive Environmental Pollution Index (CEPI). “In 10 of the CPAs, the CEPI score was below 80 and showed a decreasing trend as compared to the assessment in 2011. In the remaining seven areas, the CEPI score was found to be either 80 or above 80, and showing either an increasing trend or no change as compared to the values observed in 2011”. The Ministry had originally imposed a moratorium on environmental clearance of 43 CPAs. Later, the moratorium was lifted on 26 clusters. The same has now been done for 10 more CPAs, leaving seven CPAs in the moratorium list owing to higher pollution levels. The VCWF recalled that the SC had passed the following directions in its August 28, 1996 order: the Central government shall constitute an Authority under the Environment (Protection) Act 1986; the Authority shall implement the ‘Precautionary Principle’ and the ‘Polluter Pays’ principle; the Authority shall assess the compensation to be paid to the individuals/families apart from other be paid affected persons; the Authority to compute compensation for reversal of ecology and for payment to individuals; the Authority shall order the closure of the industries which refuse to pay compensation and recover the said compensation as arrears of land revenue; the industry is liable to pay for the pollution generated, which resulted in the environmental degradation and for the sufferings of the persons residing in those areas. The SC imposed pollution fine on all tanneries in the districts of Vellore, Erode, Dindigul, Tiruchi and Kancheepuram. The VCWF noted that out of the above directions, only the Loss of Ecology (Prevention and Payment of Compensation) Authority was constituted and the same assessed only loss suffered by the farmers and that too only for the period from 1991 to 1998. “No assessment of loss suffered by workers, individuals and families was done by the Authority in spite of directions in this regard by the SC”, the forum pointed out. Vellore district remains on the list of seven critically polluting areas in the country “No assessment of loss suffered by workers, individuals and families was done”