PATIALA: Taking suo motu notice of the pollution in river waters of Punjab, the
National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Thursday directed the
Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the
Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) to test water samples of Beas and Satluj and
Buddha Nullah and file a report within six weeks. It also directed the Centre and the state boards to constitute a joint team for the purpose.
The NGT had on Wednesday took a suo motu notice of damage caused by the spillage of molasses into the Beas after Leader of the Opposition in Punjab, Sukhpal Singh Khaira led a delegation of AAP leaders to meet its acting chairman Justice Jawad Rahim (retd) in New Delhi. The AAP delegations had apprised him of the unabated pollution caused to the state rivers
Following this, the NGT had asked the officials of the Centre, Punjab and Rajasthan to appear before the tribunal at 10.30am on Thursday. During the hearing, the NGT directed the officials to take water samples and produce a report in six weeks and constitute a joint committee. Following the hearing, the tribunal fixed July 17 for next hearing.
Representative image