Proposed amendment by PUDA in Master Plan of city opposed

Kuldip Bhatia
Ludhiana, December 18

Environmentalists here are up in arms against the proposed amendment in the Master Plan of the city by PUDA/GLADA to allow the setting up of a modern industrial park/mixed land use development along Dhussi bundhs of the Sutlej river in Sekhowal, Garhi Fazal and Salempur villages in this district.

‘Threat to environment’

The Vigilant Citizens Forum has pointed out that many protected forests, Mattewara Forest, Jaspal Kadar, Haidar Nagar/Salempur Forest, were close to the proposed industrial park on different sides. These are notified as protected forests as per the Department of Forests, Punjab. The habitat of animals in these forests would be devastated with industrial activity

In a written communication listing their objection to the proposal sent to the Chief Secretary, Punjab, Principal Secretary, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Chief Administrators of PUDA and GLADA, Chief Town Planner, Punjab and District Town Planner, Ludhiana, concerned residents and environmentalists have maintained that they were not against industrialisation, but it should not, in any case, be carried out at the cost of environment.

Taking up the issue on behalf of environmentalists, Kuldeep Singh Khaira and other functionaries of the Vigilant Citizens’ Forum have said that the proposal to develop industry on the banks of the Sutlej in between the three notified forests in an illegal and secret way by amending the land usage of area marked as “No manufacturing zone” in Ludhiana Master Plan was completely illegal.

The forum pointed out that many protected forests -Mattewara Forest (1855 acres), Jaspal Kadar Forest (288 acres), Haidar Nagar/Salempur Forest (231 acres) - were close to the proposed industrial park on different sides. These are notified as protected forests as per the Department of Forests, Punjab. The habitat of animals in these forests would be devastated with industrial activity, they stressed.

Moreover, Punjab has not much forest area left. It only has 3. 65 per cent forests as per the Forest Survey of India and Ludhiana has even worse 1.65 per cent. The industrial park will sit on river flood plain land between river and the riparian forest and this will obviously have an adverse impact on the health of the forest as well as wildlife which is called the “lung space” of the industrial hub, said the communication.

The forum added that more than one crore people of south Punjab and eight districts of Rajasthan consumed Sutlej water for themselves and their livestock. South Punjab areas like Moga, Faridkot, Ferozepur, Mansa, Bathinda have high incidence of serious diseases like cancer and, therefore, no industry should be thought of or planned in the vicinity of such a sacred river.

Khaira further said that the NGT had set up a committee led by Justice Jasbir Singh to monitor the quality of water in rivers Sutlej and Beas. Water quality of the rivers was found to be far below the satisfactory level and planning an industrial park on the river banks ran foul to the entire effort of this exercise set in motion by the NGT.

The forum maintained that an industrial park was ill-advised on a river flood plain. Encroachments on flood plain tend to cut off river from its eco-system along the banks and it would be unable to provide life-sustaining conditions to plant and animal habitats along the river margins and banks.

Staunchly opposing the proposal of an industrial park, the forum said, “Ludhiana is a critically polluted area and an industrial or textile park in the district will only add to the problem of pollution in the city. In other words, it means that it will not be suitable for textile, dyeing or any other manufacturing industry releasing effluents.”

Join Whatsapp Channel of The Tribune for latest updates.