Minister for Food and Civil Supplies Saryu Roy on Friday called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his Parliament House office in Delhi. Roy in a brief interaction for 20 minutes apprised the Prime Minister about his efforts since 2004 to make Damodar river free from industrial pollution.
Roy later said that his talks with the Prime Minister were focused more on yoga, spirituality, environment and rivers than politics and state of affairs in Jharkhand.
The Minister, who has been a noted environmental activist as well, said that the PM inquired about the industrial houses when he told him that most of the polluting units are State-run PSUs.
“The Prime Minister wanted to know the names of the units to which I told that DVC thermal plant, Bokaro Steel limited, power units of the Jharkhand Government along with coal washeries of CCl and BCCl are the major contributors to the river pollution,” said the Minister.
Roy also informed the PM that except BSl most of the polluters have agreed to release ‘zero discharge’ into the river through recycling method and added that from this year itself the steel plant would also fall in line.
“I also told him that a third party assessment of the actual situation of the river would be conducted by the CINFR with the help of Vinoba Bhave University and meeting in this regard would take place on August 13. The meeting would finalise tasks to be taken up in the future,” added the Minister.