Telangana: 18 industries told to pay Rs 1 crore to Fishermen Co-op Society

Hyderabad: The Telangana State Pollution Control Board (TSPCB) has asked 18 industries to pay Rs 1 crore to the Fishermen Co-operative Society as compensation for causing the death of fish in the Gandigudem Lake at Sulthanpur.

This decision has been made based on a valuation report regarding the damage caused by the industries submitted by the District Fisheries Officer of Sangareddy.

The TSPCB has also directed 11 industries to pay Rs 40,000 as compensation to fishermen for causing the death of fish in the Ayyamma Cheruvu at Gaddapotharam.

A Task Force Committee reviewed issues related to fish mortality that occurred in the Gandigudem Tank and the Ayyamma Chevuru on October 4 and October 5 and called the 29 industries located in the catchment of the water bodies for a hearing.

The hearing was attended by the District Fisheries Officer of Sangareddy and representatives of the Fishermen Co-operative Societies of Gandigudem and Gaddapotharam.

The Committee examined the analysis reports prepared on the basis of samples collected from the tanks, drains in their vicinity, and the industries.

It concluded that the main cause of the fish deaths was the release of contaminated water into the tanks by the industries subsequent to last week’s heavy rains.

The Committee took serious cognisance of the incident and directed the industries to submit a time-bound action plan for the prevention of seepage of contaminated water from their premises within two weeks. It recommended that the action plans should be scientifically prepared, with cost estimates and timelines.

It also recommended the initiation of action against industries for failing to prevent the release of contaminated water. Action will be taken against individual industries. Apart from this, industries will have to pay the fishermen to compensate them for their losses.

The District Collector of Sangareddy will collect the compensation amount from the industries and hand it over to the Fishermen Co-operative Societies.