Nearly 900 textile units near Jaipur have been ordered by the High Court to close down. Up to 18 million liters of untreated chemical water are being discharged into the Drayvawati river every day. The Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board (RSPCB) issued closure notices to 893 facilities for failing to install common effluent treatment plants.

These emissions have the potential to adversely affect quality of both surface water and groundwater resources and could contribute to water-borne diseases like cholera and dysentery. The HC has ordered 213 units to shutter by May 31 and the remainder by June 30.

Tests conducted in 2012 on the units, known for hand-block dyeing and printing, found that 650 textile units were discharging 12.3 million liters of untreated wastewater on a daily basis. However the RSPCB says more than 17 million liters are being dumped.

In 2003 the HC had told the Textile Unit Owners’ Association to set up a wastewater treatment plant and when the association claimed it couldn’t afford to cover the estimated cost of up to Rs 120 crores, the court then asked the state and central government to split the expense with the association.