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Public Action Committee demands scrapping of proposed industrial park in Mattewara forest
Members of the Public Action Committee for Sutlej and Mattewara forest organised a discussion on Sunday on the development model for Punjab in the context of the modern industrial park
Members of the Public Action Committee (PAC) for Sutlej and Mattewara forest organised a discussion on Sunday on the development model for Punjab in the context of the modern industrial Park proposed by the previous Amarinder Singh government on the flood plains of Sutlej river near Mattewara forest.
Colonel CM Lakhanpal of Sangharsh Committee, said, “Developing factories that destroy natural resources and poison rivers in Punjab are seriously impacting the health of people and calling it development is grossly misleading. Environmental destruction has been packaged and sold as development in a clever manner to fool people, so that even those drinking polluted water from Sutlej, which is already toxic due to Buddha Nullah, do not oppose the industrial park.”
Gangvir Rathaur of Aalmi Punjabi Sangat said, “The Bhakra dam is almost 70 years old and will soon need to be repaired to ensure safety. Keeping floodplains free from encroachments and construction will be even more important then, as the dam will not be able to regulate water flow completely during the maintenance period.”
Kashmir Singh, a resident of Sekhowal village, is along with other villagers not only protesting against the industrial park and state government for taking away their land, but also fighting a legal battle in court. He said, “In the name of development, an attempt has been made to grab 416 acres of arable land of Sekhowal village during the tenure of Amarinder Singh government, which if successful will force the farmers of the village to become daily wagers.”
Barjinder Singh of Naroa Punjab said, “Water resources of Punjab are being polluted and destroyed and to stop this mindless destruction, people of Punjab have to stand up against such misuse of state power by powerful but corrupt and selfish politicians and bureaucrats.”
Dr Amandeep Bains of RBS Roots, said, “The key players in this industrial park scheme drawn up by the Amarinder government have been ousted from power. The Channi government should immediately reject this anti-people and anti-environmental plan. Political parties should give prominent place to environmental issues in their manifestos and help shift Punjab towards sustainable and pollution free development. “
Kapil Arora, an environmental law expert and president of the Council of Engineers, appealed to all MLAs and MPs from Punjab to raise their voice for the scrapping of this scheme, which is detrimental to the environment of Punjab, Mattewara forest, Sutlej and the health of Punjabis.
