As the National Green Tribunal on Wednesday issued summons to the Punjab Government, Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB), and others over spillage of molasses into Beas river, the state pollution control body also put the erring sugar mill unit on notice.
Notably, a large number of fish were found dead in Beas on May 17 after molasses from the sugar factory leaked into river in Beas town.
The Tribunal also issued notices to the Municipal Corporations of ludhiana and Jalandhar, besides the Union Government and the Central Pollution Control Board, asking all to appear before it on Thursday.
The notice came on a complaint that untreated water, industrial and chemical discharged in rivers Beas and Sutlej is causing large scale pollution of waters in the rivers which has resulted in deaths of aquatic animals and generated fatal diseases to human beings.
NGT orders has summoned the PPCB and Punjab not only on the current water pollution issue but also on dangerous levels of contamination and pollution in the rivers and other canals of Punjab endangering aquatic animals and humans.
Meanwhile, the PPCB, issuing notice to Chadha sugar mill in molasses leakage incident, sought its reply on why action should not be initiated against it for alleged violations detected by the probe committee.
“Notice has been issued to Chadha Sugar mill, Kiri Afghana, in Gurdaspur to seek reply of its representatives on the findings of probe committee report which found violations,” a senior official said adding that the sugar mill representatives have been asked to appear before the PPCB authorities on Thursday for giving their reply.
The mill belonged to Jasdeep Kaur Chadha, daughter of former Delhi Gurdwara Sikh Parbandhak Committee chief Harvinder Singh Sarna. Jasdeep’s late husband Hardeep Singh Chadha was the brother of liquor baron late Ponty Chadha.
A probe committee, which submitted its report to the state government a day before, found violation in the storage of molasses, a byproduct in sugarcane processing, at the factory.
“There was a violation pertaining to storage of molasses as the storage arrangements were not found to be as per rules,” official said while highlighting major violation found by the probe committee.
The committee had a mandate to investigate how and why this incident happened and what were the deficiencies and what action proposed to be taken to prevent such incidents in future.
Following the molasses spill, the state government had already sealed the mill and seized its security deposit of Rs 25 lakh. The mill may also face action for contaminating the canal-based water under the northern India Canal Draining Act, the official added.
A state government official said that following the molasses leakage, the main priority of the government was to ensure potable drinking water to people living in Faridkot, Muktsar and Fazilka districts where the water supply was canal based.
People were asked not to use canal based water which was contaminated because of the leakage and inlets of reservoirs were also closed, the official said.
Contaminated water with dead fish and snakes had also entered into Rajasthan through Indira Gandhi canal from Punjab, prompting the authorities to stop drinking water supply from the canal as a precautionary measure.
The Indira Gandhi canal supplies water to Hanumangarh, Sriganganagar, Bikaner, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and other districts in north and western region of the desert state.
Mixing of molasses with water led to the reduction of oxygen level in Beas river, thus killing tones of fish and destroying aquatic ecosystem in Beas. However, the sugar mill reportedly had termed this incident as an accident. As many as eight to ten varieties of fish including cat fish, common carp died because of low level of oxygen in the river.
Meanwhile, another 1,000 cusecs of water will again be released from the Pong dam into the Beas river to flush out the contaminated water from the canals, the official said. Already more than 2,000 cusecs of water had already been released in Beas.
PPCB TO FURNISH DETAIlED REPORT
Already facing NGT’s ire over stubble burning issue, the Punjab Pollution Control Board has received summons to appear before it on Thursday in molasses leakage case. “We will present all facts and an action taken report to the NGT,” said PPCB chairman Kahan Singh Pannu.
Sources within the PPCB maintained that the Board was already expecting intervention by the national environment court and were already preparing a detailed report which includes action taken report on the entire issue in which, it will also refer to the Wildlife Department approaching the court against the erring factory unit.
Besides, the Board will also mention that they have confiscated Rs 25 lakh deposit of the Mill. However, the board is contemplating taking action against the unit (as per environment laws).
AAP COMPlAINS TO NGT
A delegation of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders on Wednesday met the NGT to bring forth the hand-in-glove nexus between officials and erring unit in Beas case. The party leaders, led by the leader of Opposition in Vidhan Sabha, Sukhpal Khaira, urged the NGT to intervene to save states of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan from being polluted by Beas’ polluted water.
Khaira said that NGT chairperson Dr Justice Jawad Rahim has taken suo motu cognizance on AAP’s complaint or petition, and by doing so, the NGT has become the complainant in the matter, and “issued notice of motion to the Union Water Resource Ministry, the State of Punjab and Rajasthan, CPCB, PPCB and others for 10.30 am tomorrow”.
AAP, in its complaint, requested the NGT to take immediate cognizance of grave poisonous pollution in the rivers of Beas and Sutlej, canals and drains of Punjab, killing lakhs of fishes and other aquatic animals besides endangering human lives.
The party demanded from the green tribunal to issue necessary environmental directions to the state of Punjab to repair the damage and prevent further extinction of water species and spread of cancer, hepatitis etc in the state.
Substantiating its allegations and claims with various news reports and video clips, the party MlAs — Khaira (Bholath), Nazar Singh Mansahia (Mansa) and Rupinder Kaur Ruby (Bathinda Rural) — blamed the Chadha Sugars and Industries Private limited for discharging poisonous noxious molasses into river Beas.
They alleged that the people, animals, aquatic animals and other creatures have become victims of the menace of polluted and contaminated water flowing in the rivers, canals, rivulets and drains of the state.
AAP prayed for NGT’s early intervention in the matter to take immediate remedial measures, including strict enforcement of international pollution norms on the state industry, besides stringent criminal action against all industrial units responsible for polluting state waters, including Chadha Sugars and Industries Private limited.