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Dumping of industrial waste in Buddha Nullah: NGOs seek FIR against PPCB chief engineer, Ludhiana dyeing industry
Members of different NGOs under the banner of Public Action Committee (PAC) on Monday submitted a police complaint seeking FIR against the PPCB chief engineer Gulshan Rai, other concerned officials and industrialists for polluting Ludhiana’s Buddha Nullah
Punjab Pollution Control Board’s (PPCB) failure to tackle dumping of untreated industrial waste in the Buddha Nullah has drove NGOs up the wall.
Members of different NGOs under the banner of Public Action Committee (PAC) on Monday submitted a police complaint seeking FIR against the PPCB chief engineer Gulshan Rai, other concerned officials and industrialists for polluting the drain.
Submitting their complaint with the police at division number 7 police station situated near Vardhman mills at Chandigarh road, the NGO members also accused the PPCB officials of being hand in gloves with the violators.
They rued that no action is being taken up by the department despite the National Green Tribunal’s (NGT) direction to act against the dyeing and electroplating industry polluting the drains.
Kuldeep Singh Khaira of Vigilant Citizens Forum said the rules are clear that untreated waste cannot be dumped in the nullah, but still a large amount of waste is getting into the nullah because PPCB officials are hand in gloves with the violators
“The officials have failed to perform their duty well due to which we have also sought an FIR against PPCB chief engineer. We have been staging protests and the matter has also been raised in the NGT in the past, but the authorities are still adopting a lackadaisical approach. This is unacceptable and action should be taken against the concerned officials to bring a change at the ground level. The industrialists polluting the drain should also be booked,” Khaira said.
Jaskirat Singh from Naroa Punjab Manch said the Buddha Nullah further pollutes Sutlej river, which is source of drinking water for around 2 crore population in Malwa region of the state and Rajasthan. Also, the water is used for irrigation purposes.
The FIR has been sought under Section 166 (whoever, being a public servant, knowingly disobeys any direction of the law which is likely to cause an injury to a person) , 217 (whoever, being a public servant, knowingly disobeys any direction of the law to save any person from legal punishment), 270 (whoever malignantly does any act which is, and which he knows or has reason the believe to be, likely to spread the infection of any disease dangerous to life), 120-B (whoever is a party to a criminal conspiracy to commit an offence) of the Indian Penal Code.
Meanwhile, PPCB chief engineer Gulshan Rai said, “Regular inspections are conducted and action is also being taken against the industrialists who are caught dumping untreated waste in the Buddha Nullah,” adding that even at present, action has been initiated against a few industrial units from where untreated waste was dumped into the nullah.
(police quote awaited)