Patna, May 16: Automobile garages in the city are openly flouting pollution norms while cleaning vehicles.

The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 states various parameters regarding the standard related to discharge of wastewater from any industrial unit.

Member secretary of Bihar Pollution Control Board Manoj Kumar Singh said: “The department has asked automobile service centres and washing stations to install oil skimmer needed for treatment of wastewater. The residual particles from the oil skimmer will be stored in a tank and the treated water will be discharged in sewerage pipes. We will conduct regular inspection of these units to check the discharge their wastewater,” he added. However, while surveying a few leading automobile service stations and garages in the city The Telegraph found that none of them have heard about oil skimmers. Prakash Mishra, a senior employee at Karlo Automobiles, said: “We do not have anything called oil skimmer in our service station.”

Abhishek Rai, from Sonali Auto, said: “I have never heard of anything called oil skimmer. Wastewater is discharged without any treatment.”

According to a recent survey report submitted by Ajay Upadhyay, a senior research fellow at department of environment and water management, A.N. College, the samples of wastewater discharged from various automobile service stations and garages in the city showed a much higher pollution reading than the permissible limit.