Most Gurdaspur hoteliers found flouting STP norms

Tribune News Service

Ravi Dhaliwal

Gurdaspur, January 28

Most of the hotels in Gurdaspur district are functioning without the mandatory sewage treatment plants (STPs), thereby violating norms of the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) and the civic body.

Renege on assurances

When these hoteliers submit their drawing plans to the MC, they clearly mention that they have adequate space. When the drawings are passed, they renege on their assurances and leave out the STP. — Baljit Singh Pahra, President, Gurdaspur MC

Situated in populated areas

Civic bodies are duty-bound to clear wastewater from our premises. It requires at least 500 sq yd plot to set up an STP while most of the hotels have been constructed in small and populated areas. — Romesh Mahajan, Chief, Gurdaspur association of hotels

The district includes towns like Batala, Dinanagar, Dera Baba Nanak, Fatehgarh Churian, Qadian, Sri Hargobindpur and Gurdaspur city. On a conservative estimate, there are nearly 100 hotels.

Hoteliers said it’s not financially viable for them to set up STPs to treat wastewater.

Romesh Mahajan, chief, Gurdaspur Association of Hotels, said civic bodies were duty-bound to clear wastewater from their premises. “It requires at least 500 sq yd plot to set up an STP. A majority of hotels have been constructed in small and populated areas,” said Mahajan.

Baljit Singh Pahra, president, Gurdaspur MC, said, “When these hoteliers submit their drawing plans to the MC, they clearly mention that they have adequate space. When the drawings are passed, they renege on their assurances and leave out the STP.”

Pahra added that the only channel open to them is to send legal notices. Hotel owners, on their part, treat such notices with disdain. “The matter is then caught in the quagmire of courts and legal notices,” he said, adding that places where hotels were connected with drains, there’s no need for the STP.

However, such hotels are rare. Several hotels store their wastewater in tanks and later use private tankers to drain out water.

“Directly discharging the wastewater into a nearby water body could degrade the environment. Also, it could adversely impact the natural biodiversity of the surrounding region,” said a pollution board official.

“Post-pandemic, hotels are running at 20 per cent occupancy. The state government is not providing us electricity at cheaper rates despite the fact that hotels have been categorised as industrial units. To compound matters, we are grappling with high VAT and luxury tax rates. Under these circumstances, setting up STP is simply unviable,” said Mahajan.

The civic body officials clandestinely admit that they often go slow on the erring hotels. “They are already reeling under the burden of taxes. Forcing them to set up STPs may sound the death knell for them. Hence, when it comes to the crux, we take a sympathetic view of things,” said an official.

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#Environment #Gurdaspur #Pollution #Punjab Pollution Control Board PPCB