The Erode Taluk Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] has urged the district administration to permanently close an oil industrial unit at Moolakarai in Koorapalayam village and implement the District Coordination Committee (DCC) decision directing the unit to cease operations from July 22, 2025.

In a petition submitted during the weekly grievances redressal meeting at the Collectorate here on Monday (June 15), the party alleged that the unit, which has been functioning since 2004, had been causing air, water and soil pollution, adversely affecting public health, livestock and agriculture in the surrounding villages. Residents had raised complaints about foul odour, air pollution and the discharge of wastewater soon after the unit began operations, it said.

The petition cited findings of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB), which reportedly detected high levels of Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) and sulphates in wastewater samples collected from the unit. Inspections carried out by the Board in 2016 had also recorded several violations, including the improper functioning of the Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) and deficiencies in sludge management, it said.

According to the petition, groundwater samples analysed by a NABL-accredited laboratory in December 2023 were found unfit for drinking due to elevated levels of TDS, sulphates and other contaminants. The party further alleged that wastewater from the unit was being discharged into the Perumpallam stream, which eventually joins the Cauvery.

Stating that the DCC had earlier ordered the unit to stop production from July 22, 2025, the party opposed the extension reportedly granted until March 31, 2027, and sought the immediate closure of the unit.