The team led by joint secretary in the ministry Manoj Kumar Singh visited the common effluent treatment plant (CETP) and inspected if Vapi can meet the prescribed parameters of carbon oxygen demand (COD) and biological oxygen demand (BOD) among other things. This is because Vapi CETP has 750 units under its jurisdiction.

Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) member secretary Hardik Shah gave a presentation to the central team informing it about the gradual improvement in the situation in Vapi from 2009-10 to 2015. Vapi was placed in the list of critically polluted industrial clusters in 2009-10 and a moratorium imposed in 2010 on starting of any new industry. The moratorium was lifted in a year only to be reimposed by the central government.

Others who accompanied the team were Dipak Gautam, a scientist; PoonamchandParmar, Gujarat government's principal secretary; GIDC managing director Manoj Agarwal and Valsad district collector Ravi Arora.

"It is only in carbon oxygen demand that we are lagging a little. Against a prescribed norm of 250 Mg\L, our figures are 325 Mg\L. We are within limits in all other parameters," GPCB officer Anil Patel said.

Vapi Green Enviro Limited has spent nearly Rs 400 crore since 2012 on CETP's upgradation and other measures. The team had visited Vatva in Ahmedabad and Ankleshwar in Bharuch on January 18, sources said.

Hardik Shah said, "Improvement in the water quality of Daman Ganga river shows the impact of measures that have been taken in Vapi town by the authorities and industries to check pollution. Water quality which was in Priority Level 1 in 2009 has improved to Priority Level 4 in 2015. Priority Level 1 stands for highly polluted and Priority Level 5 for safe in the scale of 1 to 5. We requested the central team to consider this improvement together with CEPI while arriving at a decision."