PPCB CONDUCTS RAIDS ON INDUSTRIAL UNITS

The Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) tightened its noose around the industries which are located along Lissara drain and raided four industrial units.

Four teams headed by Senior Environmental Engineers raided Nabha Paper Mill, Dhuri, Vishal Paper Mill, Malerkotla, Abhishek Paper Mill Dhonula in Sangrur district and Sukhraj Agro Tapa Mandi in Mansa Distrcit, PPCB Chairman K S Pannu said in release here.

He said that these industries were located along Lissara drain. The effluent samples of these industries had been collected and sent to laboratory for analysis. If any industry was found violating the effluent standards prescribed by the board the action would be initiated against the defaulting industry immediately, he added.

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PPCB to conduct checks on sale of polythene bags

The Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) has set up a three member committee to conduct weekly searches at premises of the city’s traders and shopkeepers to check whether they were still using polythene carry bags. These were banned in the state from May 1 under provisions of the Punjab Plastic Bags (Manufacture, Usage & Disposal) Control Act, which prohibits manufacture, disposal and usage of polythene bags from virgin plastic of thickness of not less than 40 microns.

PPCB senior environmental engineer Karunesh Gargsaid the indiscriminate use of polythene, which is nonbiodegradable, was causing multiple problems.

“The municipal corporation has been complaining of sewage lines getting choked with polythene. The animal husbandry department also warned that a large number of stray cattle were dying after consuming waste polythene from dumping pits. That is why we decided to set up this committee, which will have two members from the MC and one from the PPCB,” Garg stated.

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Residents boycott PPCB public hearing

Local residents boycotted the public hearing conducted here today by the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) in connection with an environmental clearance for setting up an integrated municipal solid waste management facility in the city.

The residents were so angry that they even refused to hear the viewpoint of officials of the PPCB and the local Municipal Corporation (BMC).

The plant is proposed to be set up at a cost of over Rs 200 crore on 20 acres on the Bathinda-Mansa road within the BMC limits. Several localities, including the Housefed Colony, Nachhattar Nagar, Bhai Mati Dass Nagar, Joga Nagar and Harbans Nagar, are situated near the proposed site.

While the public hearing was in progress, some persons from the gathering called for leaving (boycott) the public hearing in protest. The call received a huge response. At this stage, a PPCB official announced the winding up of the proceedings of the public hearing.

Earlier, people raised their hands to register a unanimous disapproval of the setting up of the plant here. However, they said they were not against the setting up of the plant unless it was about 30 km away from the city.

Resentment among the local residents was so strong that they did not even allow an official to give a visual presentation of the project.

Earlier, the District Congress Committee (urban) under the leadership of local Congress MLA Harminder Singh Jassi staged a dharna under the railway over bridge near the Government Industrial Training Institute (ITI) here to protest against the proposed plant. The Congress persons, led by Jassi, also went to the public hearing site and got their objections recorded with the PPCB officials.

Jassi said the solid waste from 18 municipal councils of this region would be brought here in hundreds of trucks, which would not only create air pollution in the city but would also have adverse effects on the health of local residents.

Uma Shanker Gupta, Commissioner, BMC, said they had organised the public hearing to hear the views and objections of the residents and to convince them about the setting up of the plant, but the people preferred not to listen to the viewpoint of the authorities.

He said the PPCB officials would now submit their report to the Environment Impact Assessment Council, Patiala, for taking a decision over the views of the people.

Dr RM Mehta, environment consultant, Voyants Solutions Private Limited, Gurgaon, said people did not have full knowledge about the project. It would provide them relief from solid waste lying in open and not miseries, he added.

He said that the project would not spread any pollution and rather it would generate revenue for the BMC.

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