Ludhiana gas leak is a direct fallout of the disposal of untreated industrial waste which has reached a crescendo in Punjab
The 30th of April 2023 is a Sunday that will be painfully etched in the memories of the Giaspura locality of Ludhiana forever when 11 people lost their lives and many others had severe breathing problems when a gas leak caused people to drop dead where they stood. Surprisingly, leakage of odorous gases and effluents is an accepted fact for the residents of this locality who live amid rickety, polluting industrial units. According to the residents, in the rainy season, industrial acid is often seen mixing with rainwater and contact with the same causes rashes and skin problems. For a long time, Ludhiana and its industrial units with their suspect pollution compliance standards have been escaping national attention. The Giaspura gas leak shows that stubble burning is not the only environmental problem facing the state. The present gas leak disaster that needs grass root investigation seems to have been the culmination of years of degrading environmental conditions in the city. In a survey conducted by IQAir, a Swiss-based air quality technology company, Ludhiana was featured in the top 50 most polluted cities of the world in 2021. Ludhiana reported an average yearly particulate matter (PM) 2.5 value of 71.8 micrograms per metric cube (µg/m3).
Thanks to these dubious achievements, the city saw a big jump of more than 100 ranks as compared to the previous year earning it the 41st spot among the cities of the world. The credit for these deplorable conditions goes to an almost unregulated industry sector riding on “flexible” pollution norms. Be it small or big industry, the environment is continuously being degraded by these units in the industrial hub of Ludhiana. The furnaces, dyeing units, electroplating units, foundries, brick kilns or iron moulding units, all are contributing immensely to polluting the city environment.
The illegal and harmful discharge and disposal of industrial waste and effluents has reached a crescendo in Punjab. The Giaspura disaster, an outcome of disposal of industrial effluents in the local sewer network became a nightmare in minutes and snuffed out lives.
Small units run from homes and single-room tenements are accorded tacit nod to operate as a result these boot-strapped units running on shoestring budgets have never heard of waste treatment plants, let alone afford them. As a result, the liquid and solid waste management rules framed by the National Green Tribunal in 2016 are alien to the industry operators. But the state pollution control board’s (PCB) apathy is glaring and possibly this is why the local police authorities have warned the PCB officials in Giaspura to find out the offending parties that have caused the gas leak or be ready to be included in the FIR. Many more towns and cities in India have an inter-mix of residences and industries, for example, Kanpur city maybe at the threshold of disasters that may unfold anytime. This requires more funds, infrastructure and manpower, however, the government must not see this as an expense but more as an investment because new industries especially small and medium-scale enterprises will spell the growth of the economy and if these units are not set up and run as per norms, the nation will have to pay major social and environmental costs in future.
Growth and prosperity cannot be at the cost of human and environmental loss. This is not the definition of inclusive growth. Businesses that are not environmentally sustainable are at best set up and run for the short term and cannot grow to be larger companies of the future. Every state in India must champion the concept of Sustainable Entrepreneurship and that alone can bring accountability to every business operator towards the environment and prevent collision of business and environmental interests.
(The writer is a policy analyst)