Hotels in Pune fall behind in enforcing environmental norms
20 Jan, 2013Reply provided by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) to an application filed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act has shown that only 40 hotels and restaurants in the Pune have the mandatory environmental clearance from the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB). There are nearly 600 hotels which have lodging permission run in Pune
As per the guidelines, a hotel that produces more than 10 cubic metre of sewage water a day is required to have its own sewage treatment plant (STP). There are also guidelines regarding the disposal of solid waste and action can be initiated for functioning without proper clearance under the Environmental Protection Act.
The regional officer of the MPCB has been reported as saying that inspections are carried out by the Board at the hotels only after any complaint is received and regular inspections at hotels is not a norm. Activist Vijay Kumbhar has challenged this practice and has demanded that the MPCB should take suo motu action and not wait for complaints.