How long will the closures last?

No date has been given. Under the court's direction a closure stays in force until the plant demonstrates full compliance to the authorities, so reopening depends on each plant's treatment and reuse systems rather than on a fixed period.

Does this affect plain grey or greige fabric?

Not as a shortage. Weavers report grey cloth piling up because it cannot be processed. The risk is to dyed, printed and finished fabric processed in these clusters.

What should I ask my fabric supplier?

Where your fabric is dyed and finished, whether that capacity is confirmed for your delivery date, and, if the processing house changes, for a fresh lab dip or strike-off before bulk production.

Industry

Processing Units in Pali, Balotra and Jodhpur Are Shut. What It Means for Dyed Fabric Supply

Textile processing units in Pali, Balotra and Jodhpur in Rajasthan have closed for failing the zero liquid discharge standard the Supreme Court is enforcing on the Jojari, Luni and Bandi rivers. Weavers who sent cloth there for dyeing report stock piling up. What was reported, what the court ordered, and what a buyer of dyed or finished fabric should ask a supplier now.

Stacks of undyed greige cloth waiting beside closed stainless dyeing vessels in a bright processing hall

Jump to section

What was reported on 12 October
What the Supreme Court ordered
What it means for a buyer of dyed or finished fabric
Frequently asked questions

What was reported on 12 October

The Times of India reported on 12 October 2026 that processing units in Pali, Balotra and Jodhpur have closed completely for non-compliance with the zero liquid discharge policy mandated by the Supreme Court. Processing is the stage after weaving where cloth is dyed, printed and finished.

The report describes the effect at the other end of the chain, in the powerloom town of Malegaon in Maharashtra. Weavers there send grey cloth to Rajasthan to be dyed. With the processing houses shut, that cloth has nowhere to go: inventory is piling up and owners are cutting shifts or closing units for days at a time. The Malegaon Powerloom Bunkars Association said the same is happening in Dhule, Bhiwandi, Vita, Ichalkaranji and Solapur.

The association also said that prices of synthetic and polyester-cotton yarn have risen by 25 percent since the US-Iran war began, and that export demand for Indian grey cloth has fallen. Those are the association's own figures, given while asking the state and central governments for help, and we have not found an official series that confirms them.

What the Supreme Court ordered

The closures follow a Supreme Court case on pollution of the Jojari, Luni and Bandi rivers, which the court took up on its own motion. Its order of 18 March 2026, reported as 2026 INSC 316 and linked at the foot of this post, records that in Jodhpur the lack of zero liquid discharge systems and the continued release of treated effluent into a drain that joins the Jojari remained matters of serious concern.

The same order lists what the Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board had already done between September 2025 and January 2026 across the Pali, Balotra and Jodhpur clusters: 1,632 inspections, the closure or demolition of 110 illegal textile processing units, closure orders against 97 industries and the cancellation of 61 consents to operate. It also restricted the Jodhpur textile treatment plant to working from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and cut the wastewater it may release by half.

The direction that matters most for supply is short. Any common effluent treatment plant, together with all the units connected to it, and any unit running its own treatment plant, that is found breaching the norms or releasing untreated or partly treated effluent is to be closed at once. The closure stays in force until full compliance is established to the satisfaction of the authorities. That is why a closure here is not a matter of days: it lasts until a plant can show it no longer releases water to the river.

What it means for a buyer of dyed or finished fabric

Grey cloth is not the shortage. The report describes the opposite, with woven cloth stacking up at the looms. The bottleneck is the processing step, and any finished fabric whose dyeing or finishing was booked in these three clusters is exposed to delay until the units reopen.

If you buy dyed suiting, shirting or uniform fabric, ask your supplier where the cloth is processed, not only where it is woven, and whether that processing capacity is confirmed for your delivery date. A supplier that cannot answer the first question cannot answer the second. Our guide to uniform fabric lead times explains where processing sits in the overall timeline.

If a supplier moves your order to a different processing house to keep the date, ask for a fresh lab dip or strike-off before bulk. A change of dye house is the most common cause of a shade that does not match the approved sample, which we cover in lab dips and shade approval.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Why are textile processing units in Pali, Balotra and Jodhpur closed?: According to a Times of India report of 12 October 2026, for not meeting the zero liquid discharge standard that the Supreme Court is enforcing to stop effluent reaching the Jojari, Luni and Bandi rivers. The court's order of 18 March 2026 directs that non-compliant treatment plants and the units connected to them be closed until full compliance is established.
How long will the closures last?: No date has been given. Under the court's direction a closure stays in force until the plant demonstrates full compliance to the authorities, so reopening depends on each plant's treatment and reuse systems rather than on a fixed period.
Does this affect plain grey or greige fabric?: Not as a shortage. Weavers report grey cloth piling up because it cannot be processed. The risk is to dyed, printed and finished fabric processed in these clusters.
What should I ask my fabric supplier?: Where your fabric is dyed and finished, whether that capacity is confirmed for your delivery date, and, if the processing house changes, for a fresh lab dip or strike-off before bulk production.

Sources

Primary documents

The government and inter-governmental documents behind the dates and figures above, so you can read them yourself. Anything attributed to trade press or to a research note is named in the copy rather than linked here.

1. Supreme Court of India, In Re: 2 Million Lives at Risk, Contamination in Jojari River, Rajasthan, Suo Motu Writ Petition (Civil) No. 8 of 2025, order (2026 INSC 316) (dated 18 March 2026; enforcement record and closure direction)

Cite this post

Quoting this page? Paste the line below so the credit links back.

<a href="https://www.bennycotts.com/blog/rajasthan-processing-closures-pali-balotra-jodhpur-2026">Processing Units in Pali, Balotra and Jodhpur Are Shut. What It Means for Dyed Fabric Supply</a>, Benny Cotts, 2026

Updated 13 October 2026 · Benny Cotts, Bhilwara

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