Pollution in Buddha Dariya: File compliance report before next hearing, NGT tells state

In a matter pertaining to major cause of pollution in the Buddha Dariya, taken up by the Public Action Committee (PAC), the National Green Tribunal (NGT) vide an order dated February 20 has directed the state to file a compliance report before the next date of hearing, on March 20.

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Kapil Arora and Jaskirat Singh said SPVs of all three CETPs in the Focal Point, Tajpur Road and Bahadur K textile dyeing clusters had filed their respective appeals against the orders issued by the PPCB following the directions of the CPCB for restraining them to discharge treated effluents into the Buddha Dariya. The Tajpur and Focal Point CETPs had filed the appeal before the Tribunal for relief on the ground that the state government was to prepare one irrigation channel along the dariya for the purpose of use of treated effluents for irrigation purposes in around 35 villages of Ludhiana and Moga.

“At the time of commencement of construction of CETPs, all three clusters had taken combined Environment Clearance (EC) from the MoE in which it was mentioned that there will be no discharge of treated water into the Buddha Dariya and on same grounds, we filed three petitions and two applications before the NGT,” they said.

Kuldeep Singh Khaira and Gurpreet Singh Plaha said after announcement of subsidy on CETPs by the Central Government, the three clusters got separate ECs with the same condition. However after completion, the CETPs in active connivance with the PPCB, laid outlets directly into the dariya and started discharging the treated effluents into it. It was only after issuance of directions by the CPCB to the PPCB, the people of the state came to know that all three CETPs had no permission to discharge the treated effluents into the dariya and Bahadur K CETP was to run on zero liquid discharge (ZLD) condition.

According to a letter issued by the Department of Science, Technology and Environment, Punjab, all three CETPs were to operate on the ZLD condition. Further, in 2019, i.e. before completion of construction of the CETPs, the Irrigation Department has already rejected the proposal of irrigation using treated effluents due to non-feasibility on technical grounds. Dr Amandeep Singh Bains and Preet Dhanoa said the Bench was informed that the so-called treated effluents from the CETPs were still being discharged into the dariya by going against mandatory provisions of the EC as well as the NGT orders. The Bench questioned the PPCB and the state government if the orders have been implemented or not, to which the PPCB accepted that the effluents were still being discharged into the dariya.

Taking cognisance of the same, the Bench ordered the PPCB to comply with the EC condition of no discharge of treated effluents into the dariya and file compliance report before the next date of hearing and AAG representing the state submitted that the compliance report would be filed before the next date of hearing. PAC members informed the media that the counsel for CETPs repeatedly argued that such an order would affect hundreds of industries but the court refused to entertain the arguments by saying that a large number of people were suffering due to such acts and the serious issue could not be ignored. Earlier, the state government as well as the PPCB were deliberately not implementing the orders of the NGT and were being allowed to operate by going against the mandatory EC condition as well as the NGT orders, but now, to comply with the orders, they will have to take action and stop the CETPs to discharge their treated effluents into the dariya. The next date of hearing is on March 20.