Rejuvenation of Buddha Nullah: Submit action plan within week, NGT to Punjab government

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has asked the state government and other stakeholders to provide a detailed report about further action plan to rejuvenate the Buddha Nullah, within a week.

Since the state government had stated in the NGT that a high-level committee had been constituted by it on curbing pollution levels in the nullah by involving experts from the IIT, Roorkee, the NGT asked the government to submit its plan of action to save the water body, within a week. As of now, no orders have been issued for the closure of the three CETPs by the NGT. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for October 7.

Talking to The Tribune, Bobby Jindal from the Punjab Dyers Association said it was a major respite to the dyeing industry. “We have already curtailed discharge levels in all the CETPs and are adhering to the norms. Representatives from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, have also made it clear to the NGT that the need for environmental clearance was required for dyes and chemicals and not for dyeing. We will do whatever is required to clean the nullah from our end,” Jindal said.

At the same time, Er Kapil Arora, member of the core committee of the Punjab Action Committee (PAC), said the PAC had requested the NGT to re-issue orders of compliance of Environmental Clearance to the PPCB to which the Tribunal maintained that their orders still stand.

“But for compliance, we will now be moving to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the Ministry of Environment and Forest to stop the discharge of dyeing units in CETPs,” said Arora, who was also present during the hearing of the case at Delhi.

The state government will now discuss about the action plan with experts of the IIT, Roorkee, and the reply in the form of an affidavit would be submitted to the NGT within a week and by October 7, the state government, PPCB and other stakeholders will reply about the progress made in rejuvenating the Buddha Nullah.