Patna, Jan. 3: Polythene factories seem to be the new concern of the state government.

Patna High Court today asked the state government to file a detailed affidavit enumerating what steps it intends to take with regard to polythene manufacturing units running in residential areas which are causing health hazards for the residents.

A division bench comprising Justices Shiva Kirti Singh and Ravi Ranjan directed the state government to come out with a comprehensive status report on the functioning of the polythene factories within four weeks and fixed the matter for hearing on January 30.

The court’s direction came on a petition filed by one Sunil Kumar Rathi, seeking closure of two polythene manufacturing units — Bikaner Plastic Industry and Dadiji Plastic Industry — situated in residential areas of the state capital.

Appearing on behalf of the petitioner, senior advocate Basant Kumar Choudhary submitted that these units are posing a permanent hazard to public health and hence they should be stopped from manufacturing polythene.

Discharge of pollutants through various outlets of Bikaner Plastic Industry is causing health hazards to people living in the Khajekalan area, Choudhary said.

He added that measures to check the same are required to be taken by the Bihar State Pollution Control Board (BSPCB) and the state government immediately.

Stating that these units are injurious and hazardous as they emit poisonous gas, the counsel contended that the petitioner has already submitted representations to the pollution control board and the Patna district magistrate last November to take corrective measures.

The petitioner is not the only one suffering form health problems because of the emissions. The entire locality has become a victim of the pollutants emitted by the industries in the area.

The locality within which the said factories are located are covered under Air Pollution Control Act, which has been notified in the official gazette.

These polythene factories neither have clearances from the fire fighting department nor the no-emission consent order for the use of Tarpin oil, pigments and colourants as required under the Air Pollution Control Act, Choudhary said.

The board constituted a committee of experts to look into the matter with a direction to submit the report in the shortest possible time.

The board’s counsel, however, apprised the court that it wanted to shift the polythene factories outside the city. “Shifting of plastic industry from a densely populated area to elsewhere is in the process,” the board’s counsel submitted.

The state government’s counsel also submitted that it is planning to shift the polluting factories outside the city and for this it wanted some time to seek direction from the authority concerned.

Asked how much threat a polythene factory could pose, an expert on plastics, said that if proper norms, particularly with regard to waste treatment plant for which devise is available in the market is not followed, it could have severe impact on health. It could trigger breathing disorders.