Logo

Logo

Captain orders crackdown on polluting industries

Days after thousands of tonnes of fish were killed following the spill of molasses from a sugar mill into the…

Captain orders crackdown on polluting industries

(Photo: SNS)

Days after thousands of tonnes of fish were killed following the spill of molasses from a sugar mill into the Beas river, Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Amarinder Singh on Wednesday ordered a crackdown on polluting industries in the state.

Chairing a high-level meeting to review the situation in the wake of the recent incident of leakage of molasses into the Beas river, the CM ordered for stringent enforcement of the laws and regulations governing discharge of effluents into the rivers.

Issuing a series of directives to the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) and other concerned departments to take stringent action against any violation of the law in this regard, Amarinder said his government will not allow pollution to damage the health of the people of Punjab at any cost, whether in towns or villages.

Advertisement

Strict action will be taken against all polluting units, warned the CM, adding that neither the industry nor the municipalities would be allowed to flow any effluents into the rivers without treating them.

Amarinder instructed PPCB to identify and take action against any industrial unit found discharging its untreated industrial waste into the rivers, thus causing pollution and health hazards to the citizens.

He directed the PPCB to keep a strict check on untreated inflow of industrial effluent in the rivers, especially at Buddah Nullah, Ludhiana, Kala Sanghean Drain Jalandhar, Patiala and Amritsar.

Lashing out at the erstwhile Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party (SAD-BJP) government for making a mess of the state during the 10 years of their misrule, the CM said it would take time to streamline things, but all problems were being tackled by his government one by one.

He said when his government took over, none of the 64 water and sewage treatment plants in the state was functional. The number of functional units had gone up to 18 now, and by the end of the year, 40 of these plants would become operational, said Amarinder.

The CM also called for Central support to strengthen the initiatives taken by the Punjab government. Just as there were central projects to clean up the Ganga and Yamuna, the Punjab rivers of Ravi, Beas and Satluj also needed to be cleaned up, said the CM, adding that the state government’s proposal for the same was pending with the Central government.

Attributing the Beas incident to an accident resulting from record production of cane in this sugar season, the CM said the Centre also needed to undertake an exercise to ensure that the right amount of cane is produced and sold to the mills for sugar production.

Advertisement