The Ropar City Police on Sunday registered an FIR against unidentified factory owners in Himachal Pradesh’s Baddi-Nalagarh area over alleged pollution of Punjab’s water resources, after industrial waste and refuse were found accumulating at Ropar Headworks.
The FIR was registered on the complaint of Ropar MLA Dinesh Chadha after a large quantity of garbage, plastic and suspected industrial material was found entering the Sutlej near the headworks. Police also conducted videography at the spot and collected samples as evidence.
The action assumes significance as the Sutlej is a major source of water for Punjab and the polluted water eventually flows through canals and is used in parts of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan.
Chadha, who visited the Ropar Headworks on Sunday, said there were no major industrial hubs upstream on the Punjab side, while several industries operate along the Sirsa river and other water channels in and around Baddi in Himachal Pradesh. He alleged that some industries take advantage of the monsoon to discharge chemicals, industrial waste, garbage and plastic into rivers and seasonal streams, which eventually flow into the Sutlej.
The case has been registered under Sections 270, 271, 279 and 280 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Sections 24 and 43 of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act and Section 7 of the Environment (Protection) Act, according to the MLA.
{{/usCountry}}The case has been registered under Sections 270, 271, 279 and 280 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Sections 24 and 43 of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act and Section 7 of the Environment (Protection) Act, according to the MLA.
{{/usCountry}}Chadha said he had called the administration and police to the site after noticing the accumulation of industrial material and waste. Rupnagar municipal council president Inderpal Singh Raju Satyal and his team also reached the spot. The Punjab Pollution Control Board is separately taking action in the matter.