Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has asked the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB)to complete the construction of ponds and the Sewerage Treatment Plants (STPs) along the Holy Bein to prevent discharge of waste water from 74 villages located across its banks.
As many as 74 villages have been identified across the banks, of which 52 were in Kapurthala district, 2 in Jalandhar and 20 in Hoshiarpur.
The decision was taken by Badal during a high level meeting with the delegation led by the environmentalist Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal on Sunday evening.
Out of these 74 villages, ponds have been constructed in 55 villages comprising 42 in Kapurthala district, one in Jalandhar and 12 in Hoshiarpur besides 19 ponds were yet to be constructed out of which 10 were in Kapurthala, one in Jalandhar and eight in Hoshiarpur.
Meanwhile, the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) chairman told the Chief Minister that in 10 villages in Kapurthala district, all the works starting from connecting of villages discharge to the ponds and its final disposal in the fields for irrigation purposes have been completed in all respects.
In 32 villages, the ponds have already been constructed but still some pending works were left for which it was decided to get all the pending works completed on priority by the concerned departments within two months.
It was also informed in the meeting that in the remaining 10 villages, where the ponds were yet to be constructed, the major issues related to the non-availability of land for the construction of these ponds.
Responding to this issue, the Badal asked Kapurthala Deputy Commissioner to arrange private or some other land in concerned villages through negotiations so that this gigantic task could be accomplished at the earliest without any further delay.
likewise, in Jalandhar district, construction work of the pond in one of the villages had been stalled due to dispute amongst villagers.
Badal directed the PPCB chairman to get this work completed with personal intervention of Sant Seechewal and former Minister Dr Upinderjit Kaur, the funding for which would be done by the PPCB.
It was also informed apprised that in Hoshiarpur district, 20 villages were identified to be located on the banks of Holy Bein, of which ponds have been completed in 12 villages.