Placating Polluters Power to units restored before Dy CM’s visit
Jangveer Singh
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 15
Power connections to all 61 dyeing units, which were discharging effluents into the Budda Nullah , have been restored a day prior to Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal’s visit to Ludhiana.

The SAD-BJP alliance was under intense pressure from the industrial lobby in Ludhiana to restore power connections of the dyeing units which were disconnected on the orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court earlier.

However, the dyeing units will have to get their act together by March 31, which have given undertaking to this effect to the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB). The dyeing unit managements had committed to e set up individual effluent treatment plants (ETPs) by then to reduce pollutants.

A decision on what to be done after this and how the effluents are to be discharged will be taken after the submission of the National Environment Engineering Research Institute’s (NEERI) report to the high court. PPCB chairman Yogesh Goel said common treatment plants could be established on cluster basis with central assistance as well as help from the state government.

There are total of 215 polluting units on the Tajpur road, including dyeing and electroplating units. The electroplating units have been given time till May 31 to achieve zero discharge levels.

Visvajeet Khanna, Secretary to the Deputy Chief Minister, on the restoration of connections, said the opinion of the Advocate General’s office had been taken before restoring the connections of the dyeing units. On whether pollutants would still be discharged into the drain albeit indirectly, he said other dyeing units were also doing the same.

“They (other units) have been given time till March 31 to set up their ETPs and the government has imposed the same conditions on the dyeing units connections of which were disconnected earlier”, he added.

Government sources maintained the present measure would also reduce discharge of pollutants into the drain as many units discharging effluents directly into the Nullah till now did not have either ETPs or their ETPs were not functioning properly.

However, others claim rampant discharge into the sewerage would only make marginal difference. “When you discharge effluents into a sewer which are treated at the terminal end you are allowed higher effluent levels of up to 350 milligrams per litre under the Pollution Act while in case of direct discharge one is allowed levels of only 30 milligrams per litre,” an official disclosed.