Industries polluting environment will face action: Punjab minister

Punjab Environment Minister Om Prakash Soni today said owners of industries not following environmental norms would face action.

During a visit to the Buddha Nullah at Ludhiana, Soni alleged that dyeing units that had not installed water treatment plants or had not kept them in working condition were discharging toxic water into the drain.

He claimed that it was causing serious health ailments.

Soni held a meeting with representatives of the dyeing units and set a deadline of two months for them to adhere to the rules.

"If industries are not fulfilling government norms, their owners should be ready for strict action," he said.

Notably, molasses from a sugar factory near Amritsar had leaked into Beas river, recently, leaving a large number of fish dead.

Soni said cleanliness of the Buddha Nullah under 'Mission Tandrust Punjab' is a dream project of Chief Minister Amarinder Singh.

Presiding over a meeting with dyeing unit associations, Soni said industry is the backbone of development in the state, but the Punjab government will not tolerate any kind of environmental pollution for the sake of running industries.

He instructed officials of the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) to ensure all dyeing units follow norms.

Soni directed the to tighten the noose around those units that are discharging their waste into the Buddha Nullah.

The Punjab government is committed to starting three Common Effluent Treatment Plants in Ludhiana at the earliest, he said.

The government has already provided its share of funds, but the union government is yet to contribute its share, the minister alleged.

"However, with the Punjab government's share and industrialists financial assistance, the maximum part of installation work has been completed," he said, as per an official statement.