Textile Effluent and Wastewater Management in Tirupur, Tamil Nadu, India: Need for Government Aid S.Eswaramoorthi and K.Dhanapal Environment With People's Involvement & Co-ordination in India (A non governmental organisation, addressing local environmental issues) No.398, Annapoorna Layout Extension, Gandhi Nagar Post Office Tirupur-641 603, Tamil Nadu, India. 18th August, 2005 EPIC In India, Coimbatore. 2 Textile Effluent and Wastewater Management in Tirupur, Tamil Nadu, India: Need for Government Aid Introduction: Tirupur is an industrial hub for textile sector, and forms one of the most important textile export centres of India. Underlining the importance of this important sector, the Indian Government has launched a new National Textiles Policy in the year 2000. This policy states that by the year 2010 the export earnings from textile should reach US $ 50 billion. However, the environmental pollution of the dyeing and bleaching units has evoked the High Court of Chennai to issue closure of the polluting units. Further, the Court ordered that an advance amout of 25% towards the cost of the reverse osmosis system should be paid by the industry to the supplier in order to begin the implementation of the zero discharge system. The cost of the implementation of the zero discharge system is very high, running into several crores. Thus, there is an immediate need for the State and Central Governments to sanction "one time grant¨ to the tune of around Rs.700 crores for the establishment of waste water treatment and water recovery systems in Tirupur textile wet processing industries. Unless this is done, the export earnings of around Rs.3500 crores/annum, and employment opportunity for around 6 lakhs people would be severely hit, briging India´s textile export to a grinding halt, since Tirupur alone contributes to around 70% of knitted garment export from India. The Export Potential of Tirupur: The textile industry plays an important role in Indian economy. It contributes to 20% of industrial production, 9% of excise collection, 30% of export EPIC In India, Coimbatore. 3 revenue, 18% of employment in industrial sector. Presently, the apparel industry is one of India's largest foreign exchange earners, accounting for 12 percent of the country's total exports. Table-1: Details of knitwear export from Tirupur during the year 2003-2004 (Jan-Sep). Month 2003 2004 Quantity Value Quantity Value (million pcs.) (million US (million pcs.) (million US dollars) dollars) January 51.0 102.5 52.4 122.5 February 40.1 76.5 40.1 87.9 March 35.6 66.8 36.4 81.4 April 26.6 48.9 31.0 72.3 May 39.1 80.4 42.3 106.7 June 29.4 72.1 33.3 90.2 July 29.6 70.2 34.3 88.5 August 26.9 57.2 28.2 75.8 September 25.4 56.4 29.1 71.7 Total 303.8 631.0 327.0 797.1 (Source: Apparel Export Promotion Council, Tirupur) Table-2: Details of knitwear export from Tirupur for the period from 1996 to 2004 (Jan-Mar); (Source: Apparel Export Promotion Council, Tirupur). Year Quantity Quantity in % Value Value in % (million pcs.) contribution to all (million US$) contribution to all India knitwear India exports exports 1996 257.4 47.87 544.3 38.29 1997 294.3 46.54 604.2 37.77 1998 338.5 49.63 616.8 37.91 1999 368.0 48.52 689.7 36.58 2000 410.4 49.58 761.6 37.28 2001 372.4 51.87 718.6 40.30 EPIC In India, Coimbatore. 4 2002 344.8 52.83 666.7 41.78 2003 370.4 54.57 793.5 43.62 Jan-Mar 2003 118.7 55.26 232.7 43.05 Jan-Mar 2004 124.3 56.17 282.6 47.20 (Source:UNIDO 2001:10; cited in Tewari, M. and Goebel, J. (2002) Small firm competitiveness in a trade liberalized world: Lessons for Tamil Nadu. Research & Policy Paper for Government of Tamil Nadu, Center for International Development, Harvard University). Tirupur has become an important textile cluster in India both for overseas market and the domestic market. It contributes around 70% of export knitted garment production in our country. In textiles sector, India has the largest export potential, and Tirupur has been identified as one of the "Small Scale Industrial Cluster¨ among the 358 clusters by UNIDO (2003). Thus, it would be beneficial if this cluster is developed in order to promote our Foreign Exchange earnings and international trade. Global trade in textile and clothing is expected to reach US$ 600 Billions in 2010 from the present level of US$ 356 Billions (Confederation of Indian Industry, 2004; http://www.ciionline.org). The textile industry in Tirupur has to grow further in order to achieve our target textile product export of US$ 50 Billion by the year 2010. But, such a growth is greatly hampered due to immense environmental damage caused by the industries in Tirupur to the Noyyal river, ground water system, and agricultural production in the downstream of Noyyal river. In order to safeguard from environmental cataclysm, economic debacle, and unemployment affliction, it is essential that the government makes immediate and wise policty decision at the earliest in order to meet the financial demands of this industry for its upgradation and modernization project. EPIC In India, Coimbatore. 5 By helping out the textile wet processing industry in Tirupur, India can attract foreign investment in the textiles sector, promote employment opportunities for more people, and supply eco-friendly goods and services to the most of the major overseas buyers, especially from Europe and America, who insist on fair and cleaner production practices by the textile industry. The Environmental Cataclysm: Though the dyeing industry delayed implementation of zero discharge system for a long time, the unveiling present scenario is definitely not in favour of this industry, forcing it to immediately adopt cleaner production technologies within a very short time. The opinion of the public is divided on this issue. While it is beneficial to provide logistical support for the smooth running of the dyeing and bleaching units to fuel our growing economy, and to feed around 6 lakhs people employed in this industry, the environmental damage caused by this industry is immense and is irreversible. Due to the pollution by textile wet processing effluent, ground water system has been totally affected, soil fertility is partially or totally lost, surface water ways and ponds are totally polluted, agricultural production in the downstream areas are severly affected, and the extent of health hazards caused to the public due to ground water contamination and through the food web is certainly unknown. The restoration of the environment to the earlier state is totally unachievable due to non-biodegradability of the dye stuff in the environment. Further, the salt in the effluent has also affected soil fertility and the ability of the biota to grow and enrich the soil. Thus, the benefits accruing from this industry such as foreign exchange earnings and employment opportunities, can no longer be held as a protective shield against the implementation of the zero discharge system due to financial constraints in undertaking such a large expansion scheme. Thus, there is an immediate need for this industry to adopt cleaner production technologies EPIC In India, Coimbatore. 6 through waste minimization, adoption of newer technologies, and carefully planning resource utilization in processing units. The Legal Debacle: Which is more important to a country? The growing economy or, safer environment for the existing and emerging generations. The answer is that when the economy is crunching under international pressure and competition, social concerns regarding environmental ethics have long been discarded. But, when the environmental pollution has attained its critical level so that it could affect the economic progress of the country, then only the environmental concerns are properly addressed. It is essential to underline the importance of the environmental conditions on which we thrive since restoration of economy has multitude of ways, while the restoration of environmental conditions has only one way - stopping pollution altogether and letting the natural curing process to get underway. But this takes unduly longer time in the case of textile dye effluent due to its non-biodegradable nature. The environmental pollution of the Noyyal river has evoked legal proceedings against the polluters in the High Court of Chennai by the "Noyyal River Ayacutdars Protection Association". In its verdict, on the basis of "Polluters Pay Policy" the Hon'ble High Court, Chennai, ruled that an amount of Rs.12.5 crores should be paid by the polluting industries for cleaning up of Orathupalayam Dam, and another Rs.24 crores should be paid to farmers towards "Loss of Ecology". So far, the payment towards cleaning up of Orathupalayam Dam and for "Loss of Ecology¨ has not been fully complied by the industries. Under the present situation, the textile wet processing industry has to pay for cleaning up of Orathupalayam dam, "Loss of Ecology¨, and for the implemenation of the zero discharge system. The financial requirements are running into several crores. The non-availability EPIC In India, Coimbatore. 7 of financial resources from the government and financial institutions for the implementation of the zero discharge system has taken its toll through curtailing the ability of the industry to pay for cleaning up of Orathupalayam dam and loss of ecology. Without sufficient funding from the government, it is impossible for the textile wet processing industry to continue their operation, and the industry is liket to perish under the present scenario. Apart from this the Hon'ble High Court ruled that no industrial effluent should be discharged into the Noyyal river, and asked the dyeing and bleaching units in Tirupur to setup reverse osmosis system to achieve zero discharge. Further, the High Court of Chennai has ruled in the second week of July 2005 that all dyeing and bleaching establishments, who have not complied with the norms of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board and have not achieved zero discharge so far, should be closed with effect from 19th July 2005. In order to show the bonafide of industrialists towards establishment of the zero discharge system, the court ordered that 25% of the cost of the reverse osmosis unit should be paid to the supplier, and then the unit should seek the Court´s direction for revoking the closure order. Though a major segment of the dyeing and bleaching units have ventured into the establishment of the reverse osmosis plant by paying 25% advance to the supplier of the reverse osmosis system, a portion of the industry, especially in the bleaching sector, was not able to adopt to the emerging situation due to insufficient funds, forcing themselves for closure of the unit once for all. Further, the industry is at the cross roads for making payment to the total cost of the reverse osmosis system and other critical components required for the establishment of the zero discharge system. Due to mounting pressure from the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) to adopt cleaner production technologies (such as "chlorine free" bleaching, and "zero discharge" from the textile effluent treatment plants), EPIC In India, Coimbatore. 8 and as a result of the orders of the Hon'ble High Court, Chennai, to stop effluent discharge into the Noyyal river, the individual dyeing units as well as the Common Effluent Treatment Plants in Tirupur have ventured into adoption of newer technologies for recovery of process water. The presently adopted physico-chemical treatment system, functional in all the currently existing eight Common Effluent Treatment Plants, is to be replaced and/or upgraded with the installation of reverse osmosis plant, nano filtration unit, and Multiple Effect Evaporator. The costs associated with this upgradation and modernization project is very high, which can not be solely borne by the individual dyeing units, unless they are financially sound enough. Similarly, the implementation of water recycling and reuse systems in Common Effluent Treatment Plants is also problematic both due to the involvement of huge quantities of effluent to be treated, and the need for large amount of capital investement to commission and maintain the effluent treatment system. Under this situtation, all the industrial units are actively seeking necessary funding from the State and Central Governments. But, practical problems in obtaining necessary fund from the Government have forced the dyeing units to implement the zero discharge project on their own. This is due to the gravity of the situation where the dyeing units have to implement the zero discharge system or, otherwise face closure by TNPCB due to the violation of the Water Pollution Act 1976, which the effluent treatment plants defied for a long time especially with regard to the Total Dissolved Soilds (TDS) in the discharged effluent. The Governnment Order No.213, and the Future of Textile Processing Industry in Tirupur: Many dyeing units in Tirupur are within the radius of 5 km. from the Noyyal river. The Tamil Nadu Government Order No.213 rules that no industry EPIC In India, Coimbatore. 9 generating potentially hazardous waste can exist within 5 km radius from the natural water resources. Dyeing units come under red category, meaning that they produce hazardous waste and, therefore, cannot exist within 5 km radius. However, all the presently existing dyeing and bleaching units within a radius of 5 km were established before enacting this rule. As this rule was applicable only to the newly emerging units, these older units were allowed to operate within 5 km radius from the Noyyal river. Thus, many of these dyeing and bleaching units have continued discharge of their effluent into the Noyyal river. The effluent discharge from the dyeing and bleaching units, and untreated sewage generated in Tirupur, results in the discharge of around 80 to 100 million litres of waste water into the Noyyal river every day. Thus, the Noyyal river has become one of the dumping grounds for both domestic and industrial waste water. This waste water discharge has severely affected the environmental setup of the Noyyal river system, as well as Orathupalayam Dam, which was constructed during early 1990s for irrigation development in the downstream areas of Karur and Erode districts of Tamil Nadu. Storage of large quantity of industrial effluent in Orathupalayam Dam has severely affected the surrounding environment, making it unsuitable for agricultural practices. Also, the ground water system in the surrounding areas is severely affected, forcing the discharge of this waste water to the downstream areas. However, the farmers and other interest-groups in the downstream areas have protested against the discharge of the waste water as it would pollute their agriculatural land and also contaminate the ground water system. In order to solve this problem and to minimize environmental pollution, the Hon'ble High Court, Chennai, has appointed an "Expert Committee on Pollution Problems in Noyyal River¨ to assess the situation. EPIC In India, Coimbatore. 10 While the "Expert Committee on Pollution Problems in Noyyal River¨, appointed by the High Court of Chennai has made a visit, around 513 million cubic feet of industrial and domestic waste water was stored in the Orathupalayam Dam, causing grave environmental concerns. The Committee recommended discharge of waste water in a phased manner to the downstream areas so that it can get diluted with the rain water, thereby environmental damage could be minimized. Presently, due to raining and flow of water in Cauvery, the Orathupalayam dam has been opened for discharge of industrial and domestic waste that remained for around 5 years. Under the present situation, it is essential that the discharge of industrial effluent in to the Noyyal river should be stopped immediately. In order to achieve this goal, two things could be done; i) the industry could be relocated; ii) the industry may adopt zero discharge system. If the industry is relocated, the structural elements of "business chain¨ or, most appropriately "the business network¨ that has developed for around two decades, could collapse. The power of Tirupur to produce, export, and potentially compete with other nations is mainly vested with the small concerns - like living cells in an organism carrying out different works to maintain the life. These small firms carry out different kinds of job orders from the potential exports, and complete the task within the stipulated time. These small units could not afford to be relocated while spending their financial resources for implementing the zero discharge system. Thus, it would be unwise to relocate the industry apart from the "restricted zone¨ of 5 k.m. from the Noyyal river. Instead, the government should make necessary arrangements for the implementation of the zero discharge system at all industrial establishments. EPIC In India, Coimbatore. 11 The Need for Financial Aid from Government: Under this situation, it is imperative for the government to make policy decisions which might have long standing industrial, social, and environmental impacts. The government at first decide what should be done to control industrial pollution by appropriately identifying the necessay waste water treatment scheme, study the technical and financial feasibility of the project, define the goals and time frame for the implementation of the project, and should allocate necessary funding for achieving the defined objectives. If we wanted to save the environment and promote the business potential, there is an urgent need for providing "subsidy¨ for the polluters to implement pollution prvention technologies. The need of the hour is to assist the dyeing units to implement zero discharge system without any delay. The main impediment towards implementation of the zero discharge system is availability of funding from the funding agencies and financial institutions. Two Common Effluent Treatment Plants in Tirupur viz., Manickapurampudur Common Effluent Treatment Plant and Mannarai Common Effluent Treatment Plant have taken necessary efforts to obtain financial aid from the State and Central Governments for their zero discharge projects and submitted their proposal to the State Government in the late 2004. Their attempts were unsuccessful. As per existing procedures under the Textile Centre Infrastructure Development Scheme (TCIDS), a major financial scheme under the Ministry of Textiles, Government of India, under which these two CETPs have applied for financial aid, the State Government has to forward the proposal to the Central Government with a commitment to provide 25% subsidy; then only the Central Government would consider the proposal for necessary funding. Since the State Government has not forwarded the proposal, these CETPs were unable to process implementation of the zero discharge system, largely due to the requirement of huge amount of capital investment. Thus, though EPIC In India, Coimbatore. 12 these CETPs have taken necessary efforts in advance when compared with others, they could not achieve their objective within a time frame required to avoid closure. It is imperative that, while the government wants to promote the economy, it should also support the remedial measures taken towards sustaining the economy through implementation of pollution control measures in the industry. Like two sides of a coin - where one side reflects the value and the other side exhibits the Ashok Pillar, which is the symbol of pride of our nation - the nation also has two sides; i) economy; ii) environment. If the environment is not taken care of, then the economy would vanish. Under the present situation, the dyeing and bleaching units have to make payments towards cleaning up of Orathupalayam Dam, Loss of Ecology, and also implement the zero discharge system within a short time. There are very small number of individual dyeing and bleaching units which can meet all these expenditures in the short run, and all others are resource crunched. In addition, under the open market economy, severe competition has emerged in the market. Though India was fast enough to pickup the race, due to environmental concerns, India's back bone of textile export, Tirupur, has come to a grinding halt. Thus, there is an immediate requirment for government aid. Though the industrial units should be held reponsible for polluting the environment and delaying the implementation of the zero discharge system, the Government was also not fast enough to respond to the demands of environmental safety and public health. Since most of the industrialists were agrarian, and most of them have not had enough education, these people were unaware of the environmental problems that could arise due to industrial pollution. The lack of awareness, and the thirst towards EPIC In India, Coimbatore. 13 development of economy in the failing monsoon right from early 1980s, have forced them to pay no attention towards environmental safety and sustainable development. The Government has failed to address the environmental concerns and raise awareness among the industrialists in time. While the dyeing and bleaching industry were rapidly developing in Tirupur during early 1980s, the Government might have had enough technical background in assessing the environmental and social impact that could arise due to pollution from this industry. But, due to lack of strict implementation of environmental regulations, these industrial establishments have continued to pollute the environment, and only when the environment has turned very fragile, the TNPCB has issued closure orders. Under this situation, it is imperative that the State and Central Governments take immediate steps for necessary intervention to help out the industry to implement zero discharge system in order to avoid futher environmental degradation and provide employment security, industrial growth, and attain timely economic benefits in order to sustain in the international market. Since Tirpur annually contributes for about Rs.3,500 crores of foreign exchange earnings, and also provide employment for about 6 lakhs people, directly and indirectly, it is vital that this important textile cluster is taken care of by the Government. If this is not done, many people will loose their job resulting in social disorder, export of textiles and foreign exchange earnings would be severely affected, and the fashion town of Tirupur will turn into a fossil town of textiles. EPIC In India, Coimbatore. 14 Components of Zero Discharge System: Zero discharge system is meant to treat all the incoming effluent, and leave nothing behind. However, practically this is not feasible since some waste is always generated in the treatment process. Therefore, the main aim is to "recover¨ usuable materilas such as water and salt from the effluent, and "minimize¨ the generation of waste so that it can be safely stored on-site without the need for discharge into the environment. As far as textile dyeing / bleaching operations are concerned, the following "critical components¨ form the basis for the zero discharge system. Machinary Function/Purpose Reverse Osmosis (R.O) system. Recovery of pure water from the effluent for reuse in textile wet processing operations (dyeing and bleaching). Nano Filtration (N.F) system. Recovery of salt from the effluent; R.O reject management. Multiple Effect Evaporator (MEE). Recovery of reusable water from reject generated by reverse osmosis and nano filtration units. Solar Pond. Evaporation of waste water (mother liquor) from Multiple Effect Evaporator. Additional Components for the maintenance of zero discharge system Windmill / Biomass gassifcation Electric power generation to meet plant the demands of R.O and N.F systems. Wood To meet the demands of the boiler used with the Multiple Effect Evaporator; To meet the needs of biomass gassification plant. EPIC In India, Coimbatore. 15 Resource Utilization in Tirupur & Requirement for Zero Discharge System: The energy demands of the zero discharge system is very high. An approximate estimation for the requirement of energy resources is lited below: Natural Demand/day Cost (in INR) resource Water 80 million litres (~72 million 57,60,000 litres could be recovered by (cost of recovered R.O/N.F and MEE). water) Electricity 12,67,200 kWh/day 50,68,800 Wood 400-500 tonnes/day 8,00,000-10,00,000 By recovering water, an estimated amount of around Rs.58 Lakhs/day (207 cores/year) is saved - which is otherwise spent by the industry for purchasing water. However, the electricity requirements of the zero discharge system cost around Rs.51 Lakhs/day (182 crores/year), and spending on purchase of wood requires another Rs.8 - 10 Lakhs/day (29-36 crores/year). Thus, there is a deficit of around Rs.3 Lakhs/day (11 crores/year), which has to be borne by the industry. By providing support for the establishment of windmill and biomass gassification plant, the electricity bill could be drastically reduced to around Rs.25 Lakhs/day (91 crores/year), resulting in a gain of around Rs.16 Lakhs/day (58 crores/year). This saving could result in the lowering of textile wet processing charges, and potentially improve our international competitiveness. In addition to this, the loss of around Rs.14 Lakhs/day (Loss of Ecology) due to environmental degradation is averted, and pollution of Orathupalayam dam is prevented, whereby the Noyyal river water stored in the dam could be used for irrigation to promote agricultural production. Noting that Tamil Nadu stands in the second place, next to Rajasthan, with regard to water EPIC In India, Coimbatore. 16 scarcity, implementing zero discharge system is very essential which could avert ground water depletion in the surrounding areas of Tirupur viz., Avinashi, Annur, Palladam, etc. Reject Management: Need for Research & Development: Reject management is a critical issue while considering the implementation of zero discharge system using reveres osmosis and nano filtration units. It is very important that at this stage itself the government takes necessary steps towards finding the right solutions for reject management. Since the reject from the reverse osmosis and nano filtration units are highly concentrated with a total dissolved solids of around 50,000 to 70,000 mg/L, it would greatly affect the environment. Thus, the government should initiate necessary research and developmental activities for finding the right kind of treatment for the reject. Otherwise, whatever resources and efforts that have been put up towards implementation of the zero discharge system will become unproductive. Environmental Benefits of Implementing Zero Discharge System: 1) Ground water pollution as well as ground water depletion in the surrounding areas is greatly minimized. 2) The loss of ecology (agricultural production, fisheries loss & detrimental effects on water supply schemes) due to pollution by the industries in Tirupur is estimated at Rs. 51.34 crores annually. By the implementation of zero discharge system, further loss to the ecology is averted. 3) Pollution of Orathupalayam Dam and Noyyal river - a tributory of Cauvery - is prevented. EPIC In India, Coimbatore. 17 4) The orders of the Honourable High Court of Chennai, and the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, are abided by the industry. Thereby, further environmental damage is avoided once for all. 5) Production of hazardous waste (sludge) is averted by the elimination of conventional treatment system, and upgradation to the zero discharge system with salt recovery and reuse. Economic Benefits of Implementing Zero Discharge System: 1) Reuse of water and salt through the implementaion of the zero discharge system would greatly reduce the processing expenses. Thus, the dyeing and bleaching units in Tirupur can potentially compete with other nations. 2) Generation of necessary power through windmill, biomass gassification plant, and co-generation units would significanly reduce the operating cost of the zero discharge system. Thus, the savings in electricity bill could be invested somewhere for the promotion of business. 3) Water cost, and fuel cost for its transporation, requires around Rs.300 crores per annum for the dyeing and bleaching units Tirupur. This expenditure is exclsuive of road damage by tanker lorries, power requirement for pumping water to the lorries, and other associated expenditures. By reusing the water, around Rs.300 crores could be saved every year, which will greatly benefit the dyeing and bleaching units. Also, ground water depletion in the surrounding areas could be averted, leading to enhanced agriculatural production and better rural livelihood. EPIC In India, Coimbatore. 18 4) The present foreign exchange of US $ 800 millions earned by the Tirupur textiles industries can be further increased without imparting any damage to the local environment and ecological loss. 5) Due to stricter environmental compliance, and adoption of cleaner production technologies, the dyeing and bleaching units in Tirupur will get more export orders from foreign countries in the open market economy. 6) Zero discharge imposes no boundaries on the amount of effluent that dyeing and bleaching units can generate, since it discharges nothing into the Noyyal River. Thus, the dyeing and bleaching units in Tirupur can augment their productivity in the coming years without self-imposing its output capacity due to the concerns on discharge limits. The above factors, combined together, will significantly promote the economy of the country through higher productivity. The overall result is a significant progress towards the target set for textile exports, and better livelihood for the people.
Report "Textile Effluent and Wastewater Management in Tirupur, Tamil Nadu, India: Need for Government Aid"