Tajpur Road effluent treatment plant: Dyers’ body locks horns with PPCB over water channel

Board is seeking industry’s consent to build the channel before releasing subsidy, dyeing unit owners say they cannot spend ₹200 crore for getting just ₹22 crore

Amid row over the delay in the construction of 50 mld common effluent treatment plant (CETP) for the Tajpur Road and Rahon Road dyeing industry, the Punjab Dyers Association (PDA) and the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) have locked horns over the construction of a channel, that will carry the treated water for irrigation.

Work on the CETP commenced in 2014, but it came to a halt in 2016 after state and Union governments failed to release grants, but work was resumed in 2018 . (HT FILE)

While the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) has demanded the PDA’s consent for the construction of the channel before releasing the subsidy amount, dyers said they could not spend ₹200 crore for getting a grant of ₹22.5 crore from state and Union governments. The Central government will provide ₹15 crore and ₹7.5 crore will be given by the state government.

General secretary of the Punjab Dyers Association (PDA) Bobby Jindal said they had waged a fight in the NGT for getting a ₹15-crore grant from the Union government, but, the project was still being delayed due to ‘unjust’ conditions imposed by the MoEF. The dyers, he said, had already spent around ₹30 crore on its construction. The state and the Centre have to pay ₹22.5 crore as subsidy and the rest of the amount has to be incurred by the industry, he said. The channel has to be constructed up to Moga and the PDA could not spend ₹200 crore for getting a grant of ₹22.5 crore from governments, said Jindal.

He said, “Now the PPCB has also imposed a condition that the state would release the subsidy only if the PDA gave consent for the construction of the channel on its own. The government and the NGT are pressurising the industry to commission the CETP, but they have failed to release the subsidy for the same, due to which the project is being delayed.”

Despite attempts made to reach PPCB superintending engineer Sandeep Behl, he was not available for comments.

The CETP project commenced in 2014, but it was put to a halt in 2016 after the state and the union governments failed to release the grants. The project was restarted in 2018.

PDA MOVES NGT

The PDA has challenged the decision of the MoEF, putting a condition that the grant would only be released, if the channel was constructed by the PDA, in the NGT and the case would be taken up on Monday.

SEWER CONNECTIONS OF DYEING UNITS

Industrialists said the MC house had approved a resolution that sewer connections of dyeing units would be snapped after March 31 and the industry would not be allowed to dump waste in MC sewer lines.

The PDA has also sought extension for completing the project as governments have failed to release the subsidy.