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Mumbai: Almost every town in Maharashtra is plagued by air pollution and the state has been paying a heavy cost in terms of environmental degradation due to the concentration of chemical industries.
According to the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), out of 83,000 industrial units in the state, 80 per cent pollute water whilst 15 per cent bring down the quality of air.
"Close to Mumbai is Dombivili, a small town with a big industrial estate, that is perpetually engulfed in smog.
Poisonous gases
"Its 50 chemical industries manufacturing dye intermediaries and operating on obsolete technology emit gases at night and discharge effluents openly into drains passing through residential areas.
"In fact, residents living in areas surrounding the industrial estates keep their windows bolted at night in fear of these factories emitting poisonous gases," says a report on State of Environment in Maharashtra prepared by the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai.
The comprehensive report has been sponsored by the MPCB and Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India.
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