Ludhiana: ‘Kale Pani Da Morcha’ activists meet villagers to oppose state government’s proposal to use dyeing industry effluent for irrigation
Kapil Arora of Kale Pani Da Morcha said that the dyeing industry of Ludhiana is not allowed to release even its treated water in Budha Nullah, and this is clearly written in the environment clearance they got in 2013
The activists of ‘Kale Pani Da Morcha’ met residents of the 32 villages at Walipur here on Saturday to oppose the proposal of the Punjab government to use effluent of dyeing industry for irrigation in these areas. The villages strongly opposed any such move and announced to fight any such proposal tooth and nail. They also announced that more meetings will be held in the area in the coming days to form an organised team to fight this battle.
Talking about this, Kapil Arora of Kale Pani Da Morcha said that the dyeing industry of Ludhiana is not allowed to release even its treated water in Budha Nullah, and this is clearly written in the environment clearance they got in 2013. These papers came out in the open due to a case on this issue in the National Green Tribunal. As a result of this, the Punjab Pollution Control Board had to issue orders to close down three major dyeing treatment plants in Ludhiana. In an appeal against these orders at the NGT, the lawyer of the industry referred to some documents according to which the Punjab government has a plan to provide this trade effluent of the industry through a canal for irrigation to some 32 villages which are in this area and, therefore, their team has arrived here to hold this meeting.
Amitoj Mann of the morcha said that they were surprised that the Punjab government and the industry have made this plan without consulting anyone in these 32 villages. “This plan is not practical, and the industry and government only want to waste more time by creating more confusion around this issue,” he said. He said that if the PPCB, the Punjab government and the dyeing industry do not stop this activity before December 3, then the people of Punjab will come forward to close their pipes themselves.
They said that the entire district in Sriganganagar of Rajasthan is closed due to this issue, and he appealed to the people of Punjab and Rajasthan to reach Ludhiana in maximum numbers to close such pipes on December 3.
Kuldeep Singh Khaira, a member of the morcha, said that the National Green Tribunal, after the hearing on the closure of the treatment plants of the dyeing industry on November 4, has only said that if the industry fulfils the conditions of its environment clearance and norms, only in those circumstances Punjab Pollution Control Board may not take any strict action against them till the next date of hearing which is on December 2. As the industry is clearly flouting both norms and clearance conditions, PPCB can take action if they want.
Jaskirat Singh, a member of the morcha, said that it is very surprising that the extremely important environmental clearance document that was presented by the Central Pollution Control Board in the National Green Tribunal and on the basis of which the Punjab Pollution Control Board had to order the closure of the entire dyeing industry in Ludhiana finds absolutely no mention at all in the 81 page report given by the Vidhan Sabha Committee on Buddha Nullah recently.
They demanded dismissal of the chairman and member secretary of the Punjab Pollution Control Board for this.