Rs 2.77-crore fine slapped on SPVs running CETPs for violations
Tribune News Service
Ludhiana, August 20
In what appears to be the beginning of the sustained campaign against widespread pollution in the Buddha Nullah, the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) has cracked the whip against the special purpose vehicles (SPVs) running common effluent treatment plants (CETPs) in the city.
The state environmental body has slapped a fine of Rs 2.77 crore on the SPVs and has taken a bank guarantee of Rs 1 crore from the company, of which Rs 25 lakh has been encashed for violations.
It was submitted by the PPCB before the National Green Tribunal (NGT) during the resumed hearing of the ongoing suo motu case pertaining to polluted water running in the Sutlej tributary.
In an affidavit submitted before the federal environmental body, a copy of which is with The Tribune, PPCB environmental engineer Kanwaldeep Kaur deposed that the board had imposed environmental compensation of Rs 1.77 crore for violations on the SPV operating the 15-MLD CETP for dyeing units located on Bahadur Ke Road, Rs 75 lakh environmental compensation and secured Rs 1 crore bank guarantee, of which Rs 25 lakh has been encashed from the SPV running 40-MLD CETP for dyeing units located in Focal Point, and another sum of Rs 25 lakh has been imposed as environmental compensation on SPV operating 50-MLD CETP for dyeing units located on Tajpur Road.
“For the treatment of wastewater of the dyeing industries, three CETPs with total capacity of 105 MLD have been installed in Ludhiana, with which 211 units have been connected, and the treated wastewater was disposed of in the Buddha Nullah,” she said.
Presenting the status of pollution from dyeing units, the PPCB Environmental Engineer revealed that there were about 265 dyeing units operating within the Ludhiana MC limits, which have been broadly categorised into three types — large, scattered, and those connected to CETPs — as per the pollution control standards.
Of the total 11 large scale dyeing units, one has adopted zero liquid discharge (ZLD) and one has stopped its wet polluting process while the rest nine units were discharging their treated effluent into the sewer.
“The large scale dyeing industries are being monitored by the board regularly and consents up to June 30, 2024, were issued subject to suitable conditions to achieve ZLD,” she revealed while stating that the PPCB has constituted a committee of officers from the board, MC, PWSSB and CPCB, headed by the Chief Environmental Engineer to examine alternatives available with the industry with regard to allowing discharge into MC sewers.
The PPCB affidavit further submitted that 43 scattered dyeing units were of small and medium scale, of which 26 were located in Industrial Area-A, where four units have been permanently closed and two others have been issued directions for closure by the board while the remaining 17 units were operating in various parts of the city. Of these, three units have already adopted ZLD, two have been closed permanently and one unit has shifted to discharge onto land for plantation.
“These units have not been granted extension in time beyond March 31, 2023, and directions have been issued by the board to these industries to stop the discharge of effluent into MC sewers,” she said while stating that the MC authorities have also been instructed to disconnect their sewerage connections to prevent illegal effluent discharge into MC sewers.
She added that the concept of CETPs was introduced to treat dyeing effluent at single point source resulting in effective treatment and easy regulatory monitoring. “Though CETPs were designed to consolidate and treat dyeing effluent from various dyeing units and have been made operational in the city, many scattered units remain operational that could not connect to CETPs, mainly due to geographic limitations,” the PPCB official said while admitting that though these units were achieving compliance with standards, they were not connected with the centralised treatment system resulting in discharge of treated effluent into MC sewers.
“The scattered dyeing units are otherwise achieving the environmental norms and complying with the standards notified by the MoEF&CC. However, the board has issued directions to these units for disconnection with the MC sewers or adoption of ZLD system in the wake of Ludhiana being a critically polluted area,” the PPCB affidavit stated.
Pertinently, the PPCB has admitted that the water flowing in the Buddha Nullah was not even fit for irrigation purposes while the CPCB has termed the Sutlej tributary water quality sub-standard.
The development assumes significance as the state government has been undertaking an ambitious project to rejuvenate the highly-polluted Buddha Nullah, a seasonal tributary of the Sutlej flowing in Ludhiana, at the cost of whopping Rs 840-crore but the wait to turn the nullah into a clean water body remains unending.
