• Barely a month later, an inspection by the HSPCB showed deficiencies in the distillery’s water treatment/ effluent flow plants. The inspectors in their report said: “The discharge of waste waster from the processes is a violation of the NoC of the Board/ Environmental clearances issued by the MoEF.”

The HSPCB team said that company representatives be called for a personal explanation and consent for operation of the bottling plant be decided based on the outcome of that meeting.

HSPCB officials in Panchkula told The Sunday Express that in view of these deficiencies, they were surprised by the Central clearance for expansion of the project.

Allowing dual feed, too, was a violation of current guidelines for stand-alone distilleries, Para 2 of which state: “Proposal for stand-alone new distilleries and expansion of existing distilleries without achieving zero discharge in surface water/ ground water will not be considered by MoEF...”

With N V Distilleries becoming a subject of a tussle between the Central and HSPCB authorities, chairman of the pollution control board A S Chahal stepped in and sent a strongly worded letter dated March 31 this year to the Joint Secretary in the MoEF.

Quoting guidelines, he wrote: “The subsequent environmental clearance granted by the Government of India on their own appears to be in violation of guidelines...In view of this, it is requested that facts of the case may please by re-examined...in case of any inconsistency with the provisions of the relevant Act/Rules/Notifications/Guidelines, Environmental clearance so granted may please be reviewed and action, if any at our end may please be intimated accordingly.”

... contd.