SPCB notices to KJ Ispat

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Jajpur: Even though the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) has opened an office at Jajpur Road to look into the violation of pollution norms by mines and factories in Jajpur district, a majority of the firms do not adhere to SPCB norms, a report said.
The smoke and effluents discharged from these companies result in heavy pollution and affect both humans and animals.
The SPCB has issued a show-cause notice to the sponge iron plant of KJ Ispat in Kalinganagar for polluting air and water.
The matter came out when the SPCB issued a show-cause notice (Letter No: 269, dated 7.01.2019) to the Director of KJ Ispat asking him to file a reply regarding the charges within a fortnight.
The notice warned that if there is no reply, action would be taken against the steel firm and the permission to operate would be withdrawn. The sponge iron plant has permission to operate till March 31, 2019. Purussotam Kandoi, the head of KJ Ispat, while attending the recently held ‘Make in Odisha’ conclave in Bhubaneswar, had alleged that trade unions were playing politics and harming industrialization. But he has failed in controlling pollution in his own plant.
In 2016, the SPCB had held Visa Steel of Kalinganagar responsible for discharging black ash and effluent mixed toxic water into farmlands in the Jakhapura panchayat and had issued several
notices to it.
During an on the spot investigation it was found that the effluent mixed water of KJ Ispat and Jindal Stainless pass through Visa Steel premises to farmlands in Jakhapura panchayat.
Later, a team from the SPCB’s regional office conducted a probe in KJ Ispat November 27, 2018 and found the plant was violating 11 pollution norms.
But the authorities at KJ Ispat rejected the charges and said that all steps have been taken as mentioned in the SPCB notice, and soon they will be made operational. SPCB Regional Officer Pramod Kumar Behera said that irregularities were detected in pollution control during a check at the KJ Ispat plant. He warned that action will be taken if the plant authorities fail to file a satisfactory reply to the notice.