New Delhi, Sep 17 - Twenty-four areas around the country where water, air and soil pollution have reached critical levels are now being studied by experts from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi to see what can be done about them, Minister of Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh said here Thursday.

'Meanwhile, no new industrial units are to come up in any of these areas unless a committee of experts is satisfied that it will not worsen the ambient air, water or soil quality,' he added.

Among the 24 critically polluted areas, the minister named Singrauli (Madhya Pradesh) and Korba (Chhattisgarh), two hubs of thermal power generation; the Vapi-Ankleswar belt of chemical industries in Gujarat; Trombay in Mumbai; Ranipet in Tamil Nadu; Patancheru in Andhra Pradesh and Talcher in Orissa.

Once the experts from IIT-Delhi give their report, the Central Pollution Control Board will draw up an action plan on how to clean up these areas. Ramesh said: 'We shall use the polluter pays principle, and use that money to set up common effluent treatment plants, for example.'