Kanpur leather industry to re-open subject to environmental clearance by UP Pollution Control Board: Report

Representative Image

The leather industry in Kanpur has been allowed to re-open business subject to conditions that they satisfy environmental norms laid down by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB), as per a report in Business Standard.

In order to reopen, tanneries would have to ensure that waste does not flow into the Ganga River. They would have to acquire a no objection certificate (NOC) from the UPPCB which will be the monitoring body, the report stated.

The industry, including tanneries and leather goods manufacturers, is valued at Rs 12,000 crore and Rs 6000 crore worth of goods are exported to the Gulf, Europe, China, and Iran among others.

Businesses which employed around a million in the Kanpur and Unnao districts were shut since December 2018 after the UPPCB served notices to 400 tanneries. This was to ensure a cleaner Ganga for the Kumbh Mela, it said.

Uncertainty surrounding the industry’s future had many owners considering a shift to other states such as West Bengal and many had already received plant allotment letters from the Bengal government, the paper added.

While the new requirements would allow for business to resume, the paper noted that business owners expect a 50 percent lesser production. The other hurdle is that an updated state government directive in this regard is yet to be issued.