Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Monday urged his Himachal Pradesh counterpart Virbhadra Singh to jointly put up an effective monitoring mechanism for the cleaning up of Ghaggar river.
Badal, in a letter to Virbhadra Singh, informed him about the deterioration of the water quality of Ghaggar in Punjab. He said that it had been brought to his notice that the discharge of domestic sewage generated from the territorial jurisdiction of Himachal Pradesh area is a major reason for the river pollution.
Chief Minister said that the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) has conducted survey of Ghaggar river to check the various sources of pollution entering the river. It has also been observed that the untreated industrial effluents and sewage of Nahan, Parwanoo and Kala Amb areas enter the river through various streams which were a major source of contamination of its water quality, the letter stated.
Badal immediately sought Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister's directions with regard to taking immediate steps to check the discharge of untreated domestic and industrial waste into Ghaggar. In view of the grave situation, Badal emphasised the need to evolve a joint monitoring mechanism comprising the officers of concerned departments from both the States for preparing a time-bound joint action plan to check pollution of Ghaggar river.
Badal also requested Virbhadra to finalise a convenient date for a joint meeting in Shimla so that a permanent solution could be found for this cause. He also mentioned that this crucial matter was of great public interest and huge significance, and Punjab was taking every possible measure to improve the quality of water in the rivers to statutory levels.