Mumbai, March 25 The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has raised serious concerns about the functioning of the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) between 2017 and 2022, stating that many industries were found to be operating without the necessary permits and discharging untreated wastewater into water bodies.
The "Subject-Specific Compliance Audit" on the role of the MPCB in preventing water pollution, covering the period from 2017-18 to 2021-22, found that despite legal provisions, several industries were operating without obtaining the required consent to establish and operate.
The MPCB, which has the power to even order the closure of a plant for violating rules, was found to be lacking in enforcement, according to the report presented to the Maharashtra legislative assembly.
The audit was conducted between June and November 2022 and included a "joint physical verification" of 158 industries.
The CAG noted that monitoring was severely constrained due to a shortage of manpower, resulting in fewer inspections.
During the physical verification, the auditors found that polluted wastewater and untreated sewage were being discharged into water bodies, effluent treatment plants (ETPs) were not functioning properly, and online continuous emission monitoring systems (OCEMS) were not installed.
The report also noted irregularities in the assessment and collection of consent fees, stating that these were not consistently based on industries' balance sheets and Ready Reckoner (RR) rates, leading to undercharging.
The MPCB failed to obtain or verify bank guarantees in cases of non-compliance and did not initiate forfeiture where required, the audit found.
A significant shortfall of between 53.50 per cent and 68.35 per cent was observed in inspection visits to industries, the report said.
Inspections of highly polluting industries such as sugar, paper, and pharmaceutical units fell short by 58 to 84 per cent, the audit said, noting persistent non-compliance with prescribed standards in these sectors.
During the joint verification of seven sugar industries, treated effluent samples collected at the outlet of ETPs exceeded permissible limits, indicating ineffective treatment. In five Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs), only 6 to 23 parameters were tested against the prescribed range of 12 to 53.
Out of 12,319 samples tested across six regional offices of the MPCB, as many as 5,033 samples did not comply with prescribed standards. Furthermore, 14 industries connected to CETPs were found discharging effluents beyond permissible limits for periods ranging from five to 37 months, but the regional offices took no action against them.
These "systemic" failures weakened pollution control, said the CAG.
The MPCB should proactively coordinate with other government departments to bring all operational industries under the consent regime, fill sanctioned posts, and ensure strict enforcement of consent conditions, particularly for highly polluting industries, it said.