MPCB serves notice to stop work on Kolhapur unit of Dalmia Bharat Sugar

PUNE: The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) has served a closure notice on the Kolhapur unit of Dalmia Bharat Sugar Industries Ltd for releasing effluents into a river, which is the drinking water source for Panhala town.

The Dalmia Bharat Sugar Industries Ltd (DBSIL) has three sugar mills in Uttar Pradesh with a total crushing capacity of 22,500 tonnes per day. DBSIL had acquired the Kolhapur-based sugar co-operative Datta SSK last year. At the time of acquisition, the plant had a crushing capacity of 2500 tonnes per day.

DBSIL has started expansion work to increase the capacity of the plant to 5000 tonnes per day.

The MPCB has served a stop work notice on the sugar mill. ""There were several leakages in the effluent treatment plant of the sugar mill. The effluent was percolating through the soil and seeping into the Kasari river. It was affecting the water supply scheme of Panhala Municipal Corporation. We had also received a report from the district collector,"" said Rajiv Mital, member secretary, MPCB.
Sources said that the effluent was from the expanded new capacity whose trial was being taken. The mill has crushed about 2 lakh tonne cane till now and another 3 lakh tonne cane is standing in the fields for crushing.
Dalmia Bharat is the second sugar mill in recent past from the state to get closure notice from flouting the effluent treatment norms. Earlier, Baramati Agro had received it for its Aurangabad plant in December last year.