E-Paper
NGT panel irate with scant effort to control river pollution in Jalandhar
A National Green Tribunal panel constituted for monitoring river pollution in Punjab, headed by justice (retd) Jasbir Singh, expressed displeasure over the work
A National Green Tribunal panel constituted for monitoring river pollution in Punjab, headed by justice (retd) Jasbir Singh, expressed displeasure over the work of the various departments to control pollution in the river during their visit at Kala Sanghian drain and Wariana dump in Jalandhar on Tuesday.
Justice Singh was accompanied by committee members–former chief secretary Sabodh Aggarwal, Punjab Pollution Control Board secretary Babu Ram and environmentalist Balbir Singh Seechewal, apart from government officials of various departments.
The panel inspected the place over a period of 6 hours, visiting the spots where Kala Sanghian drain merges into Chitta Bein rivulet, whose polluted water further mixes into Satluj river, whose water is used by southern Punjab and Rajasthan for drinking.
The panel found the efficacy of sewage treatment plant (STP) of Basti Per Dad in Jalandhar to be below expectation and warned that erring officials would not be spared. It also directed officials to stop mixing untreated water into Kala Sanghian drain.
An official privy to the development said the panel visited Wariana dump in Jalandhar and directed the municipal corporation to build a boundary wall across the dump and cover it with a green belt.
The panel is to meet with all stakeholding departments in Jalandhar on Wednesday asking them to bring a blueprint to stop the flow of untreated water into Kala Sanghian drain. The panel also collected water samples of the drain where sewage from a private hospital and factories mix into it.
