Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science, Technology, Environment and Forests headed by Rajya Sabha MP Ashwani Kumar on Sunday stressed the need for setting up waste treatment plants and better traffic management in the the holy city of Amritsar. On visit to Amritsar, the Committee discussed about the need to set up solid waste management and sewerage treatment projects for Amritsar so that such projects could be brought in on priority basis for the larger interest of city people and visiting tourists.
Rajya Sabha MP Kumar stated that the much-awaited 'Solid Waste Management Project' in the city would be operational from the next year as the SAD-BJP led Punjab Government has assured this to the visiting Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment and Forests. He said that the State Government has assured to the Committee that it is determined to have the project operational by 2016.
Kumar, who along with 10 other members of the Committee were on Amritsar visit, said that the Committee has pulled up the district administration about the heaps of plastic waste seen in the every nook and cranny of the city. The Committee held deliberations with officers of the Punjab Government including Sewerage Board, Municipal Corporation, Traffic Department and Punjab Pollution Control Board to have an overview of the environment.
The Committee expressed its concern over the uranium contamination observed in the ground water samples by Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), he added. Kumar said that the officers of Punjab Government acknowledged the need of establishing the sewage treatment and collection capacity. They however, desired to have financial support from the Central Government to develop the treatment capacity.
He added that the need for establishing real time ambient air quality monitoring in Amritsar is urgent to keep a track of city's air quality and its likely impact on the Golden Temple. Kumar said that the report prepared by the committee will be submitted with Central Government which would inform the Parliament about the implementation of the committee’s recommendations within a period of six months. The Committee had earlier visited ludhiana to chalk out a plan for the city’s development.