The tanning industry in Vellore dates back to 1914, and its environmental impact has been severe across Vaniyambadi, Ambur, Ranipet, and Peranambut. There are more than 600 tanneries. Much of the untreated effluent generated from the tanneries—chrome tanning, for example, produces wastewater with chromium, lead, arsenic, and mercury—contaminates fields, irrigation tanks, and the Palar River. TDS levels are a hazardous 15,000 mg/l. The Supreme Court recently ordered the formation of a committee to look into concerns about public health and environmental degradation of the Palar River, water bodies, groundwater, and agricultural lands.
The state govt has now set up a committee, led by retired judge Justice M Sathyanarayanan, to audit the extent of ecological damage caused by the tanning industry, untreated sewage, and illegal sand mining. The Sathyanarayanan committee includes secretaries from various govt departments, environmental experts from NEERI, Nagpur, and Anna University, and representatives from the affected community. The committee will formulate a comprehensive plan to reverse ecological damage.
Its mandate includes directing the Pollution Control Board to prohibit the discharge of untreated effluents into the Palar and other water bodies. It will also designate no-discharge zones and identify locations for common effluent treatment plants (CETPs) as well as evaluate existing CETPs and make recommendations on zero liquid discharge.
The 1996 Supreme Court ruling in Vellore Citizens Welfare Forum vs Union of India laid down the “polluter pays” principle and emphasised sustainable development. But it is not being enforced,” says N Gajapathy, a member of the Vellore district environment monitoring committee. The court took note of the tanneries in Vellore processing about 1.1 million kilograms of raw hides daily, consuming 45-50 million litres of water and generating 13.5 million cubic metres of effluent annually. While the state and central PCBs informed about existing CETPs and another 26 effluent treatment plants equipped with operational and functional zero liquid discharge plants, there is no confirmation that zero liquid discharge has been fully achieved.
A 2024 Central Pollution Control Board report showed higher concentrations of biological oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, TDS, chloride, and sulphide in the Palar compared to 2015 levels. Untreated sewage continues to flow into the river from several towns, including Vellore, Vaniyambadi, Melvisharam, Arcot, and Walajahpet. Treated sewage is discharged from Ambur and Ranipet.
“We hope the TN govt will extend full cooperation,” says A Ashokan, a member of the Green Care Trust and monitoring committee, adding that excessive sand mining along the Palar has stripped away a lot of the fertile land. The court has ordered the state to enforce the ban on illegal sand mining. The monitoring committee will oversee sand mining operations using real-time surveillance, including drones and GPS. Stringent action will be taken against offenders.