KSPCB orders Yatnal-owned sugar mill to shut down

Bengaluru, NT Bureau: A sugar factory owned by BJP MLA from Vijayapura Basanagouda Patil Yatnal was issued a closure notice by Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB).

The plant in question, the Siddhasiri factory, is based in Chimmaidlai village of Chincholi taluk of Kalaburagi district. Yatnal took to microblogging site X (previously Twitter) and called it a political vendetta by the Congress State government.

Meanwhile, Minister for Forests and Ecology Eshwar Khandre denied the allegations. He pointed out that Yatnal’s factory had been fined Rs 1.5 crore last year and continued to violate norms.

Meanwhile, the KSPCB in its closure notice said that the Ethanol and Power unit of the factory had violated several norms including the release of untreated waste into a nearby water body.

The pollution control body has ordered the Kalaburagi district administration to close the factory and asked the relevant Electricity Supply Company (ESCOM) to cut off the electricity to the plant.

Moreover, KSPCB has asked that a criminal case has been filed against the factory owners.

“The cane crushing had begun without the Consent For Operation (CFO) of the Board. The bagasse (cane residue) was stored in an open yard. The Project proponent revealed that the bagasse has been bought from outside. The ETP (Effluent Treatment Plant) construction work was still under progress. The boiler was commissioned and operating. The industry has put in place distillation columns for the making of ethanol despite Consent for Establishment (CFE) not being issued for the activity in question,” the KSPCB closure report said.