The Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) has collected air, water and soil samples from Harp Chemicals Private Limited at Jahangir village in Dhuri after villagers alleged that the ethanol plant was causing water pollution.
Rohit Singla, executive engineer, PPCB, Sangrur, said the department received a complaint from the office of the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM), Dhuri, following complaints by sarpanches of surrounding villages.
A PPCB team visited the factory on Tuesday along with sarpanches from five villages and former village representatives. The team collected air, water and soil samples for testing. Singla said the report is expected in around 15 days.
He said the department had also received a complaint in June regarding black-coloured water in a village, following which samples were collected. The report in that case is still under process. “The factory is inspected every three months,” Singla said.
A sarpanch from Badshahpur village alleged that the factory was causing pollution and injecting polluted water into the groundwater through borewells. He said residents of several villages had contacted them, prompting them to approach the SDM office and seek an urgent inspection.
Company denies allegations
{{/usCountry}}Company denies allegations
{{/usCountry}}Pushpinder Singh, managing director of Harp Chemicals, termed the allegations baseless. He said the plant produces ethanol from corn and rice supplied by farmers. According to Singh, the grains are ground, mixed with water and cooked, after which the starch is converted into ethanol. The remaining fibre and protein are used to produce animal feed, he said.
Singh said the process does not generate poisonous water or gas. He added that water used during production is treated at the plant’s treatment facility and reused. “We don’t inject any water into the ground, neither on the ground nor under it,” he said.
Singh also said that while obtaining the NOC from the Jahangir village panchayat in 2023, the company agreed to allow village representatives to inspect the facility at any time. He claimed that a village committee had visited the plant several times but had not found any pollution-related issue.
He said the factory employs around 35 to 40 people from Jahangir Kalan, Ghanauri Kalan, Ghanauri Khurd and other nearby villages, who can also inspect the facility.
Rejecting the allegation that the plant operates multiple borewells, Singh said there are only two borewells at the facility. One operates for eight to 10 hours, while the other remains on standby.
Singh further said the company purchases around 60,000 tonnes of stubble annually and uses it as fuel in its boilers under controlled conditions. He added that the company had purchased around 40,000 to 50,000 quintals of maize from farmers in nearby villages through the Dhuri grain market this year.