NGT team takes water samples from Fazilka villages

Bathinda The state monitoring committee of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Monday took water samples from sites in Fazilka facing groundwater contamination. Committee head justice Jasbir Singh (retired) and eminent environmentalist Balbir Singh Seechewal also interacted with residents of villages near the India-Pakistan border.

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“An earlier report of the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) confirms the adverse impact of effluents on groundwater in Fazilka villages. Today, our team has taken samples again from random sites and the final report will be prepared to see if the groundwater is affecting agriculture and public health in the area,” the committee head said, adding that prima facie, several parts of the district were found to have been affected due to untreated discharge of municipal waste.

Justice Jasbir also added that Pakistan had obstructed the flow of the Sutlej River and it is creating the problem of stagnant water in border areas in Indian territory.

“We are studying the matter closely for a solution,” he said, adding that the NGT’s state committee will hold a special meeting on Tuesday in Fazilka for an assessment of measures being planned to improve wastewater management in Malwa.

“Deputy commissioners and municipal body heads of five districts, Fazilka, Ferozepur, Bathinda, Moga and Faridkot, have been called for the meeting. Functionaries from the Punjab sewage board, soil and agriculture departments will also remain present with reports on the status of sewage treatment plants in their jurisdictions,” he said.