13k industries & no effluent treatment plant: Pollution risks mount at Peenya in Bengaluru

Bengaluru: Despite being one of Asia's largest industrial hubs, the Peenya Industrial Area continues to operate without a common effluent treatment plant (CETP), raising serious environmental and regulatory concerns more than five decades after it was set up. The area, according to the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB), generates approximately 1,458 kilolitres of wastewater daily.Spread across nearly 1,800 acres and housing over 13,000 industries — most of them micro and small enterprises — Peenya has long been a backbone of Bengaluru's manufacturing economy.The absence of a centralised waste treatment system threatens to undermine both its industrial viability and environmental sustainability, said a senior KSPCB official. "There is a lack of scientific disposal mechanisms for industrial effluents," the official added.Around 2,000 units in Peenya fall under the ‘red' and ‘yellow' pollution categories, including electroplating, chemical processing, textile dyeing and pharmaceutical manufacturing.While about 20 large industrial clusters have in-house treatment systems, smaller units depend on tanker-based disposal to a private facility in Doddaballapur, incurring costs of Rs 8-10 per litre. The private facility has already indicated potential shutdown due to operational challenges, leaving thousands of industries exposed to compliance risks."Alarmingly, improper disposal by smaller units has led to untreated effluents entering stormwater drains, contaminating nearby lakes and groundwater reserves — an issue that could have long-term ecological and public health consequences," a senior GBA official said.The failure to establish a CETP is not due to a lack of intent alone. In 2018-19, the then Congress-JD(S) coalition govt sanctioned Rs 10 crore to build a 200 KLD CETP on KSPCB land in Peenya. However, delays in execution meant the project never took off, and the funds were eventually returned to the govt — highlighting systemic inefficiencies in project implementation, said a senior KSPCB official.KSPCB chairman PM Narendraswamy has issued a clear warning on the urgency of the situation. "From an environmental standpoint, steps must be taken at the earliest to establish a CETP. Failing this, action will be initiated against those responsible," he said.Industrial stakeholders say the situation has reached a tipping point. With the Doddaballapur facility operating under uncertainty, any disruption could halt production across hundreds of units, particularly MSMEs that lack the capacity for independent treatment.Peenya Industries Association has renewed its demand for immediate govt intervention, urging the establishment of a CETP within Peenya itself."Without providing any infrastructure, these KSPCB officials are blaming us… We need the support of GBA and the govt to have our own CETP," said Shiva Kumar R, former president of the association.—---------------------------------------QuoteAlarmingly, improper disposal by smaller units has led to untreated effluents entering stormwater drains, contaminating nearby lakes and groundwater reserves — an issue that could have long-term ecological and public health consequences-Senior GBA official