Southern States - Karnataka   

`Govt. keen on protecting environment'

By Our Staff Correspondent

TORANAGAL (BELLARY DT.) Dec. 8. The Government is aware of the environmental hazards caused by industries, and is keen to protect the environment and maintain the ecological balance, M.Y. Ghorpade, Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, said here today.

He was speaking after commissioning the "de-dusting system" of the Corex cast houses at Jindal Vijayanagar Steel Ltd. (JVSL), installed at an estimated cost of about Rs. 20 crore.

He said the Government had instructed the Karnataka Pollution Control Board (KPCB) to monitor the quality of the air around the JVSL, a multi-crore mega steel plant in Bellary District.

Mr. Ghorpade welcomed the JVSL's move to install the pollution control system, and said pollution was inevitable when an industry was set up. But steps had to be taken to protect the environment. "Strict control is a must to prevent pollution. It is difficult, but not impossible,'' he added.

The impact of the de-dusting system installed at JVSL will be known after a couple of months. Meanwhile, the KPCB will continuously monitor it and suggest any corrective measure that needs to be taken to make the system more effective.

Mr. Ghorpade said the Deputy Commissioner had been instructed to enforce rules to ensure that lorries transporting iron ore were covered with tarpaulins. The long cherished dream of setting up a steel plant to make use of the natural resources available in the district had been realised with a modern integrated steel plant being set up. He called upon the people to extend their cooperation and support to the JVSL, and said that the steel plant was an asset, and needed to be encouraged. Any problem that arose between the JVSL and the people should be solved amicably, he added.

He complimented the JVSL for agreeing to contribute Rs. 40 lakh to ease the drinking water shortage in nine villages surrounding the plant.

O.P. Jindal, Chairman of the Jindal Group, said the group had set up a number of industries.

At the same time, it had taken care to protect the environment. "Our main concern is to see that people are not made to suffer by our industries. Otherwise, what we earn will prove to be a waste,'' he said, and added that it had been proposed to construct a hospital for the benefit of the people and accord priority to education.

Mr. Jindal thanked the people of the district, the Government, and the officials for their cooperation in setting up the steel plant. "This kind of cooperation has prompted us to ask our relatives to set up few more industries in the area, besides extending help and cooperation to the local entrepreneurs interested in setting up units,'' he added.

Sajjan Jindal, JVSL Managing Director, claimed that with the commissioning of the de-dusting system, the steel plant was one of the cleanest and least-polluting units in the country.

S.K. Gupta, JVSL co-Chairman, said more importance was being given to preventing pollution.

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