Ahmedabad: Central effluent treatment plants are posing a serious threat to the health of human beings in the state. In hazardous and polluted clusters of Gujarat, the central effluent treatment plants (CETP) are expected to treat industrial sludge to prevent its harmful effect on human and other forms of lives. But, CAG, in its latest report, has found 12 CETPs doing just the opposite. The report is critical of Vapi, Ankleshwar, Nandesari, Kadodara, Sachin and Jetpur. In Vapi, for instance, CAG has found “treated” waste water out of CETPs to be four times more toxic than GPCB norms in terms of biological oxygen demand (BOD) value, three times higher in case of chemical oxygen demand values (COD) and four times higher in terms of total dissolved salts (TDS). All three of these values should be lower to allow life to thrive in water bodies. In Ankleshwar, CETPs were discharging “treated” industrialwastewater thatwas10timeshigher in BOD values,fivetimeshigher in COD values,hadseven times ammonia contentthan acceptedlimitswhilesaltcontent wasseven timeshigher. While pointing outAnkleshwar, Panoli and Jhagadia, CAG noted that units were illegally discharging “untreated, concentrated, acidic and hazardous waste water directly into the GIDC manhole without primary or secondary treatment”. Referring to ONGC, Indian Oil, National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd, Bharat Petro-Chemicals Company Ltd, KRIBHCO, Reliance Industries Ltd, Larsen & Toubro, Essar Industries, located in Hazira, CAG said, “due to the presence of high level of hydro carbons in waste water” discharged by these industries, “large-scale death of aqua stock in the river was reported in the recent past.” CAG noted that Dhagadhra Chemical Works Limited, manufacturer of salt-based chemical, discharging effluent into the little Rann of Kutch. Times View Bimaru was a term coined for Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh - the most backward of all states. It is sickening to note that ‘progressive’ Gujarat actually falls in this category on the health front, notwithstanding the booming medical tourism in the state.