Amaravati, Aug 4 (IANS): Advisor to the Andhra Pradesh government, Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy, said on Wednesday that all companies, whether Indian or foreign, should operate without polluting the environment in the state.

He made these remarks while saying that there is no objection if Amara Raja Batteries Limited (ARBL) stays in the state.

The senior YSRCP leader said that the company can run its operations without polluting the air and water.

Reddy also noted that the company has to follow all the norms without causing any problem to the people.

On Tuesday night, the state government had clarified that no industry is being singled out as reported by some sections of media in the past couple of days.

However, it made it clear that ARBL was one of the 50 industries which were given notices to close, and was among 64 industries which were served notices to stop production due to excessive pollution.

During inspections, pollution levels were found to be high in some industries, violating the norms, which also included the battery company owned by the family of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader Jayadev Galla.

Forest department secretary R. Vijay Kumar said that air, water and land are being polluted to a great extent, even affecting the health of the employees working in these identified industries.

He said that Nayudu Cheruvu, Gollapalli reservoir and other tanks were highly contaminated with lead ranging from 134.79 mm to 3,159 mm, including 4-5 km radius surrounding some of the industries.

Reddy asserted that Amaraja was emitting dangerous pollution and reminded that even the high court had warned the company.

When 55 people were tested for lead levels, he said, 44 were found to have impermissible levels because of the pollution emanating from the company and highlighted that nothing is more important to the government than the health of the people.