Bengaluru, Sep 12 (PTI) Karnataka Forest Minister Ramalinga Reddy on Saturday ordered a comprehensive probe into a private environmental laboratory here after a surprise inspection found several irregularities, including operation without valid pollution control consent, officials said.
He also directed the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) to conduct a thorough inspection of all other such laboratories in the state.
The directives were issued by the minister following his surprise inspection to the Bengaluru Analytics and Research Laboratory Private Limited unit along with high-level officials of the KSPCB, officials said.
According to an official statement, during the inspection, it was observed that the laboratory had obtained prior permission from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF) by stating that there would be three analysts in the laboratory.
However, during the minister’s visit, only one analyst was present at the institution. It was observed during the inspection that the other two analysts had not been working at the institution for the past five months, it said.
The laboratory has obtained Consent for Establishment from KSPCB and same expired in 2025 and laboratory was operating without valid consent of the Board, officials said.
“It was noted that the unit had not implemented any proper system for disposing of the waste generated by the laboratory’s activities and instead discharging directly into an open pit,” it said.
Officials also noted that while reviewing the unit’s records and comparing them with the analysis rate chart of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), it was found that the cost for analysing water samples from an STP unit is Rs 5,000 and the cost for collecting and analysing air pollution samples from factories was Rs 13,000.
“But as noticed from the records, this laboratory is carrying out sample collection and analysis with Rs 1,000 and Rs 650 respectively,” it said.
Similarly, officials also noted that discrepancies were found between the field data collected for measuring noise levels and the data recorded in the final analysis report.
Consequently, the minister stated that the analysis report of this laboratory was found to be suspicious, and therefore, a complete investigation has been ordered, it said.
Furthermore, Reddy stated that there are about 50 units which are collecting and analysing water, air, and noise samples in Karnataka.
“This inspection case will serve as a warning to all other laboratories,” he said.
The minister has directed the Chairman and Member Secretary of the Board to subject all remaining laboratories to a thorough investigation in the coming days. PTI AMP KH
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