Maximum number of plywood manufacturing units will be benefitted in the country with central ground water notification for extracting ground water for industrial and other uses and special exemptions for MSMEs very well drafted regulations after taking all observations of NGT, committees etc. The Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) has exempted Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) from the requirement of obtaining a no objection certificate (NOC) for drawing groundwater up to the limit 10 cubic metre (10000 litres) per day for a unit by issuing a notification on 24 September, 2020.
“For a two presses unit with one dryer of four sections this amount of water is more than enough. According to an estimate it can consume nearly 8000 liter of water if it is treated for hardness. If any unit opt for oil heating the consumption of water will come down and in that condition a three presses unit can also be functional very comfortably if we do not allow the leakage of water,” said Mr Anand Amrik Singh, a senior technocrat in wood panel industry and trade.
Talking to its environmental impact Mr D P Khali, Scientist, Forest Research Institute (FRI) said, “The government initiative is appreciable but it is the responsibility of the users that the ground water level don’t go much below and create problem in later stage. The ground water used for industrial purpose in a particular area can create problem if it’s not managed properly. So, to recharge the water bed at that particular industrial cluster in the region they must install rain water harvesting system with every manufacturing unit for its sustainable use and availability of water in future.”