Ludhiana MC chief gives last personal hearing to 33 dyeing units

Taking tough stance on dumping of dyeing industry waste in sewer lines of the civic body, Municipal Corporation (MC) Commissioner Aaditya Dachalwal gave last personal hearing to the owners of 33 dyeing units in Industrial Area A and scattered dyeing units in the city at the MC’s Zone D office on Friday.

Strict directions have been issued to the dyeing industry owners to stop dumping industrial waste into the sewer lines of the civic body, as per the directions issued by the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB), otherwise stern action would be taken against them. As per the PPCB directions, no dyeing industry waste, be it treated or untreated, can be dumped into the sewer lines of the civic body.

Officials stated that as per the directions of the Supreme Court and NGT, ‘Polluters Pay Principle’ rule applies to the dyeing industry and they have to make arrangements to treat the effluent/waste on their own.

The dyeing industry owners have been directed to adopt Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) technology or set up a common effluent treatment plant (CETP) for treating waste of their units. Chief Engineer (CE) Ravinder Garg was among those others present in the meeting.

Representatives of almost all dyeing units in Industrial Area A and scattered dyeing units were present in the meeting. Concerns of the dyeing industry were also discussed and different solutions were proposed by officials.

The MC chief said the National Green Tribunal (NGT) was regularly monitoring the situation and the government was also committed for abatement to pollution in the Buddha Dariya. The PPCB has issued directions for taking strict action against the erring dyeing industry units.

Dachalwal further said a last personal hearing had been given to the industry and if they still fail to comply with the directions, stern action would be taken against the dyeing industry units by the civic body. No one could be allowed to pollute the Buddha Dariya as the pollution in it adds to pollution in the Sutlej, which is a drinking water source for many in the state and Rajasthan. As per Supreme Court and NGT directions, dyeing industry have to make arrangements to treat their effluent/waste on their own.