Buddha Nullah issue: Morcha members meet CP, seek FIR against PPCB, SPV office-bearers

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, August 30

Members of Kale Pani Da Morcha, a campaign to clean the Buddha Nullah, met with the Commissioner of Police (CP) today and asked him to file an FIR against top PPCB officials and Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) members, who were hand in gloves and under whose ‘patronage’ the Buddha Nullah was still being polluted.

Discharging pollutants into the nullah is not possible without the knowledge of PPCB or SPV officials.

Kale pani da morcha members

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Members of the campaign, including, Naroa Punjab president Jaskirat Singh, RTI activist Kuldeep Singh Khaira, film director Amitosh Mann, Amandeep Singh Bains, and others, went to the Tibba road police station and filed a complaint against the officials. Later, they went to the CP and asked him to file an FIR against the officials who were allegedly behind the unchecked pollution of the Buddha Nullah and other waterbodies in its catchment area.

Speaking to The Tribune, Kuldip Singh Khaira said after a survey of collected samples from the nullah, following the National Green Tribunal’s orders, it was discovered that the water was contaminated, despite the fact that there were three Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETP) operating.

“The CPCB had directed the PPCB to stop CETP water from entering the nullah, and orders to this effect were issued on August 12, but even after 15 days, the latter has not taken any action, and the CETPs continue to discharge water into the nullah. If CETPs were fully functional and treating the water properly, the samples should not have failed. It may be the scattered dyeing industry or the units having CETP plants, the nullah continues to be polluted by the industry,” said Khaira.

The Supreme Court, in its 2017 directions, stated that treatment plants could only be functional if they met the ‘Zero Liquid Discharge’ condition. However, the masses have been forced to drink untreated water for many years, according to Jaskirat Singh of Naroa Punjab. He added the CETPs failed to treat the water because their capacity was insufficient, but that did not give anyone the right to jeopardise the lives of thousands.

The morcha members said such activity of discharging pollutants into the nullah was not possible without the knowledge of PPCB or SPV officials. The members added the CP gave them a patient hearing and assured to act as per the law.