Sweeping of industrial firms planned

Sweeping of industrial firms planned

TANGERANG: The Tangerang Municipality's environmental agency
will investigate hundreds of industrial firms, which have been
alleged to have used ground water illegally, starting from the
fourth week of July.

The agency's office chief M. Akip said on Thursday that in
conducting the sweeping, the agency would cooperate with the
Banten province environmental agency and several officials from
the Office of the State Minister of the Environment.

Akip said most industrial firms across the municipality had
officially requested a permit for taking ground water from one
well only. "But it is unlikely that industrial firms only use one
well to source the ground water," he added.

He said the impact of rampant and illegal use of ground water
had caused environmental damage. Besides that, residents living
around industrial plants had recently complained of water
shortages, especially during the dry season.--JP