NGT asks PPCB to keep tab on throwing waste into holy Kali Bein
KI Singh/ royalpatiala.in/ Chandigarh
Showing zero tolerance towards the menace of pollution in the state rivers, the Monitoring Committee constituted by the National Green Tribunal on Wednesday asked the concerned officers to pull up their socks otherwise face the music due to complacency on their part to take effective measures to contain in a result oriented manner.
The Committee also directed the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB), Municipal Corporations Ludhiana and Jalandhar for strict surveillance and monitoring in the industry prone areas to check the flow of untreated industrial and domestic effluents besides launching a crackdown on erring industrial units, which were violating the pollution norms.
Reviewing the progress of implementation of Action Plans for Clean Rivers during its 7th meeting, the Chairperson of the Monitoring Committee, Justice Jasbir Singh (Retd.) referring to an issue, raised by the renowned environmentalist Baba Balbir Singh Seechewal regarding 550th Prakash Purb of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji, directed the PPCB to ensure that none of any kind of waste is thrown into the historic Kali Bein. The Chairperson asserted that no laxity in this regard would be tolerated at any costs. Justice Jasbir Singh pointed out that the Committee will be initiating field visits soon to assess the ground reality in different districts including Amritsar, Jalandhar and Ludhiana etc. Fixing next meeting on December 11 to evaluate the action taken, the Chairperson also directed concerned officers to accomplish the tasks given to them in a stipulated time frame by achieving requisite results. He also asked the departments/agencies concerned to take appropriate action on the recommendations and decisions made by the Committee during its field visits during past couple of months.
It was also decided in the meeting that all the agencies involved in the cause of preventing the state rivers from pollutants would ensure the timely submission of action taken reports otherwise the officer concerned be held accountable for inordinate delay. The Committee also instructed the PPCB and Municipal Corporation Ludhiana for expeditious commissioning and execution of Jamalpur, Bhattian I&II, Balloke-I and II Sewerage Treatment Plants so as to plug the untreated inflow effectively. The Committee also instructed to intensify the pace of setting up of Common Effluent Treatment Plants having capacity of 15 MLD, 40 MLD and 50 MLD in Ludhiana besides setting up of 15 MLD CETP at Jalandhar, up-gradation of 5 MLD CETP and setting up of 6 MLD at Leather Complex at Jalandhar.
Taking stock of monitoring of water quality of rivers, the Committee was apprised that stretches of river Satlej had registered an improvement in water quality class whereas efforts were being done to improve the water quality class of stretches of Sutlej and Ghaggar rivers. The PPCB informed the Committee that the technical evaluation had already been completed for installation of 11 Real Time Water Quality Monitoring Stations in the rivers of the state.
The Committee also reviewed the progress of setting up of Effluents Treatment Plants/Biogas Plants for dairy waste at Tajpur and Haibowal Dairy Complex in Ludhiana. The Rural Development and Panchayats Department informed the Committee that under setting up of treatment facilities in villages as many as 127 villages in first phase had been identified with completion of work in 5 while the work was under progress in 18 villages.
Justice Jasbir Singh asked the Department of Soil and Water Conservation to prepare and present a detailed plan for reuse of treated wastewater of sewerage treatment plants of Ludhiana City for irrigation. The Department apprised that it had launched a massive program to motivate the farmers to use the treated water as the NABARD had already approved the proposal for using wastewater from 25 sewerage treatment plants in the state.
Earlier, the former Chairperson of the Committee Justice Pritam Pal (retd.) introduced the newly appointed Chairperson Justice Jasbir Singh with the members of Committee and officers/officials of various departments.
Prominent amongst those participated in the meeting included Senior Member of NGT Committee Subodh Agrawal, Principal Secretary Environment and Climate Change Rakesh Verma, Committee Members Baba Balbir Singh Seechewal, Babu Ram and Prema Lal, Director Rural Development and Panchayats Jaskiran Singh, Commissioner MC Ludhiana Kanwalpreet Brar and Additional Commissioner MC Ludhiana Sanyam Aggarwal.
October, 30,2019
