Tales TDS tells: Farmers in Hosur allege chemical discharge from TEPL plant causing low yield

The workplace wells of Ullukurukkai colony successful Thimjepalli panchayat of Krishnagiri territory are filled to the brim successful summer. It is clip for paddy crop. Elsewhere successful the district, nurseries are being raised and fields prepared to rise the crop. But the punjai lands (dry cultivation lands) of the village, adjacent to the iPhone manufacturing works of Tata Electronics Private Limited (TEPL), person fallen disquietingly silent. A 100 metres away, this jarring soundlessness is interrupted by the sounds of operation activity. Workers are engaged gathering a partition to demarcate the bound of the TEPL works from the adjoining farmlands. A dependable travel of h2o discharges from nether the plinth of the caller bound partition of the works and into an exit transmission moving done the farmlands.

A fewer metres wrong the bound wall, determination are ample embankments of sprawling rain-water-harvesting structures oregon percolation ponds of the plant. In the past week of May, acres of Ullukurukkai’s farmlands were flooded by the h2o that had reportedly overflowed from the plant’s percolation ponds. The institution told officials past that it was lone rainwater from the ponds. Collector C. Dinesh Kumar said, “There were 2 instances of breach [in the past fewer months] from the works and some times, the rainfall recorded was 5 cm and 6.75 cm.” But the farmers importune it was not conscionable rainwater, but “chemical water” that entered their fields from these ponds that overflowed.

The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) issued a show-cause announcement to TEPL successful May 2026. It flagged the TDS (total dissolved solids) scope of 1,916 milligrams per litre (mg/L) to 2,450 mg/L (against the norm of nether 500 ppm oregon not supra 1,000 ppm for percolation ponds) successful the h2o illustration collected from the rainwater pond. It besides flagged BOD, oregon Biological Oxygen Demand (dissolved oxygen needed for breakdown of integrated matter), successful the scope of 12 mg/L to 78 mg/L and COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand indicating contamination) successful the scope of 48 mg/L to 160 mg/L — some values importantly exceeding permissible limits of nether 30 mg/L. The TDS scope was ascertained from samples collected connected 3 occasions astatine 3 antithetic points betwixt December and May.

Off to a promising start

It was successful 2021 that TEPL chose Nagamangalam, adjacent Hosur, to acceptable up its iPhone constituent manufacturing unit. The determination was seen arsenic a large triumph for Tamil Nadu’s concern portfolio and Hosur’s manufacturing ecosystem that was diversifying into electronics. The installation expanded with operations opening astatine the Phase II works past November. Farmers had rejoiced astatine the accomplishment of a “good firm company” successful their midst. “They accidental Tata is simply a bully company. If they are giving jobs to truthful galore people, they volition lone bash good, we thought,” says Pushparaj, who present leads the farmers’ protests against the alleged effluent discharge. “Don’t we cognize what rainwater is? This is not rainwater,” Mr. Pushparaj says repeatedly. “We grew up connected this ungraded and successful this water.”

One nighttime successful December 2025, the pumping strategy of the sewage attraction works (STP) connected the TEPL premises malfunctioned, 2 sources successful the territory medication told The Hindu. “The untreated h2o was discharged into the rainwater-harvesting pond. There were complaints from farmers then. When the h2o was collected, the stench was bad. But, if it was commercialized effluent, the TDS would beryllium overmuch higher. It cannot beryllium said that it was wholly untreated commercialized discharge, but decidedly partially treated effluent,” said 1 of them.

Trade effluents

Trade effluent is immoderate liquid discarded discharged from business, trade, oregon concern premises. Conventional commercialized effluent attraction systems bash not hole precocious TDS levels. TEPL is simply a Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) portion that uses Multiple Effect Evaporator (MEE) for its effluent treatment. Raw commercialized effluent is treated done the Reverse Osmosis (RO) process that returns debased TDS water, which tin beryllium reused for gardening. The discharge from the RO process (RO reject) will, however, person a greater TDS concentrate. This RO cull past passes done a bid of evaporators (MEE) and the h2o is condensed for reuse. The MEE reject, which again volition person precocious TDS values, is yet passed done an Agitated Thin Film Dryer (ATFD) that turns the high-TDS cull into a powder. This makes TEPL a zero discharge plant, wherever nary h2o oregon discarded technically exits the plant.

However, accounts of 2 witnesses astatine the works echo the charges farmers make. They bespeak that the ZLD biology mandate whitethorn beryllium lone connected paper. According to them, commercialized effluents routinely bypass the ETP and participate postulation ponds on with the STP discharge. When the accumulation is precocious and effluent output outstrips the ETP capacity, the commercialized effluent from the anodizing process volition beryllium stored successful tanks and discharged astatine nighttime and during rain, assertion 2 persons from the plant. “The incoming accumulation effluent [trade effluent] volition beryllium highly acidic, with pH levels of 0-1. The pH worth indispensable beryllium chemically boosted to scope neutral earlier the effluent is fed into the attraction line. But that is chemic intensive for precocious volumes, expensive, and time-consuming. The capableness of the ETP initially was lone 60 kilolitres [60,000 litres], but the works whitethorn sometimes make up to 100 kilolitres of commercialized effluent, and the excess volition scope the drain,” said a source, who had worked successful the ETP. How often is sometimes? “Two oregon 3 times a week, but depending connected accumulation output,” said the different source. “The commercialized effluent volition person precise precocious TDS — 6,000 oregon adjacent 10,000. But erstwhile linked with the STP line, which volition person a higher measurement but acold little TDS, the last TDS numbers autumn and are offset to permissible limits. The valves volition beryllium opened successful the rain, with TDS diluted.”

“We usage caustic soda to boost the pH value. The accumulation squad volition nonstop a message informing of the incoming effluent the adjacent day. Either we person it by dumping the effluent already filled up successful tanks (pending treatment) into the drain oregon inquire them to halt production. Production cannot beryllium stopped oregon tin beryllium stopped lone for a time oregon two. So the effluent would beryllium sent into the drain and STP h2o poured implicit it.” But what of the metallic residue? “There volition beryllium nary metallic residue, that volition settle, but the TDS of the commercialized effluent volition amusement up arsenic high, and this is fixed erstwhile mixed with the STP water,” the root said.

Consent to Operate

On November 24, 2025, the TNPCB issued a Consent to Operate support for enlargement of Phase I of TEPL. The bid mentions the manufacture of 3.74 crore metallic cases for iPhones per annum. The bid besides mentions points of disposal of sewage discharge (for gardening, toilet flushing, and cooling tower) and commercialized effluent discharge (recycling process and conversion into salts), nary of which is to beryllium fto retired to percolation ponds, which are for groundwater recharge. On December 8, 2025, Mr. Pushparaj, connected behalf of the farmers, petitioned TEPL “about inaction connected their earlier complaints of stench and dumping of ‘chemical waste’ successful the percolation ponds”. The petition stated that this had been going “on for 3 months” (before December) but nary enactment was taken connected their complaint.

This February, his coriander fields, among others, faced different specified flooding from the plant’s ponds, helium said, showing colour printouts of the inundated harvest to the territory administration. “I was asked to beryllium patient, arsenic the attraction works volition beryllium acceptable soon,” says Mr. Pushparaj. “Production began a twelvemonth agone successful Phase II, but the ETP was commissioned lone 4 months ago,” said the source.

The Hindu sent questions to TEPL to remark connected these witnesser accounts from wrong the plant, but nary authoritative connection was received successful response. However, TEPL released a connection past week saying its TDS numbers were wrong permissible limits and the TNPCB had dropped its scrutiny. The TNPCB did not respond to calls to corroborate the development.

Adequate attraction facilities

Collector Mr. Kumar dismissed testimonies of residents and said the works was a ZLD installation and adequacy of the attraction facilities was ensured earlier the assistance of consent. Based connected inspections, verification of records and investigation of samples, nary grounds was recovered to found that concern effluents were bypassed from the attraction strategy oregon mixed with sewage for dilution and discharged into percolation ponds. “Further, samples collected from the ponds and adjacent wells were analysed and the results did not bespeak contamination attributable to discharge of concern effluents from the unit,” helium said. Another authoritative besides claimed Mr. Pushparaj was moving with the docket of seeking worldly compensation from the company.

However, the fields archer a antithetic story, and Mr. Pushparaj is not the lone 1 affected. Nagalakshmi, who holds a specified three-fourths of an acre of land, had harvested 300 sacks of cucumber past summertime and 500 sacks the twelvemonth before. This week, she stood beside the cucumber harvest that was lone ankle precocious connected time 25, erstwhile it should person reached her waist. Ms. Nagalakshmi had acceptable up a bund truthful that the “dirty water” does not participate her field. “Till yesterday, that ‘dirty water’ was here, it had conscionable drained. That is wherefore the ungraded is wet.” The communicative of debased output echoes passim the area. Horticultural crops are grown present circular the year, but the tiny model for paddy this clip of the year. The farmers cultivate cauliflower, beans, cucumber, ragi, and flowers done drip irrigation. They fishy that since the works channels effluents into the rainwater percolation ponds, which are designed to facilitate percolation successful the soil, the effluents seep into their wells. “In different villages, h2o levels are low. Here, our wells are brimming, showing seepage from their effluent ponds,” says Ramesh. “The h2o successful our wells utilized to sensation similar ‘tender coconut’ water,” says Krishnan, the colony head. “Until a twelvemonth and a half, radical moving successful the fields drank retired of these wells, but farmworkers present transportation their ain h2o due to the fact that good h2o has gone atrocious and stinks”.

The Hindu collected 2 h2o samples: 1 from the exit channel, which is besides the archetypal constituent of the discharged h2o that was steadily flowing nether the plinth of the recently constructed bound partition of the plant, and the different from an adjoining workplace well. The TDS values were 1,789 and 1,539 respectively (safe bounds 1,000 ppm), portion the pH was 7.88 and 6.81 respectively (acceptable scope 5.5 to 6.5). Mr. Pushparaj’s h2o illustration from April has a TDS of 1,721 and pH of 8.09. “This is not astatine each conducive for agriculture. Farmers volition besides get tegument irritation,” says a erstwhile Joint Director of Horticulure successful Hosur, adding that the precocious TDS volition impact the drip lines and borewells. “They tin displacement to lipid seeds, but yet they volition person to permission their lands due to the fact that it volition suck retired each the nutrients.”

Asked astir reparations for the harm suffered by farmers, the Collector said the institution was asked to behaviour continuous TDS monitoring. It would besides person to guarantee that determination was nary waterlogging successful times of excess rain. “If necessary, we volition archer them to usage HTPE [high-density polyethylene] lining successful rainwater-harvesting ponds to forestall further mixing with the groundwater, arsenic the farmers person demanded,” helium added.