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