New Delhi, Sept 05: The Supreme Court today asked the Union government to contribute 50 per cent of the cost of the two Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs) to be constructed by a private party at the Calcutta Leather Complex Housing all the relocated and new leather tanneries. A bench comprising Justice M B Shah and Justice Ashok Bhan gave this direction while expressing satisfaction at the work done so far by the West Bengal government in construction of the four CETPs that were to treat waste water emanating from nearly 800 tanneries housed at present in the complex.

The other two CETPs, to be constructed in 18 months time by M/S Dalmiya & Co, would share the load on the four CETPs already constructed. The court today said that the 98 tanneries, to whom land had not been allotted by the build-operate-transfer (BoT) party Dalmiya & Co, would form a cooperative within one year and during this time the bot party would not transfer the land to any other party.

On the submissions of Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) counsel Vijay Panjawani, the court directed the West Bengal Pollution Control Board to lay down standards for pollution emission and effluents as per the environment protections rules which provide that fixing of such standards for cluster of units required concurrence of the CPCB. Bureau Report