WITH THE dye industry being phased out in industrialised countries because of increasingly stringent effluent treatment and environment laws, the Indian dyes and dye intermediates sector expects to treble its exports inthe next seven years to Rs 25 billion. A paper preparedby the Punjab, Haryana and Delhi Chamber of Commerceand Industry (PHDCCI) notes that due to stiff environmental regulations of the European Community (EC),"the dyes and dyestuffs industry is being vacated byEuropean industry and this will increase the demandfrom developing countries".
Even at the present export level, the dye industry isresponsible for several cases of severe groundwater andsoil pollution. Near the village of Bichhri in Rajasthan,for instance, an H-acid plant has completely polluted theregion's groundwater and soil within three years of itsexistence. H-acid is a dye intermediate whose manufacture was phased out in the EC some years ago.
This is significant in the Indian context as a largepart of the dye intermediates is manufactured in thesmall sector, where worker welfare is generally ignored.