Unhappy with working of Punjab Pollution Control Board, NGT’s warns officials to face action

JALANDHAR: Expressing dissatisfaction at the working of Punjab Pollution Control Board, the NGT appointed monitoring committee chairman Justice Pritam Pal (retd) on Wednesday said that the officials failing to check pollution in water channels would be taken to task and penal action would also be initiated against them. Justice Pal made these remarks after seeing the black water flowing through Kala Sanghia drain and foul smell emanating from it.
He and other members of the committee including former Punjab chief secretary SC Aggarwal, PPCB member Baba Balbir Singh Seechewal and former PPCB secretary Babu Ram also met residents of villages along the drain at Gurudwara Tahli Sahib at village Baler Khanpur including the kin of those suffering from cancer. He expressed shock at the state of affairs while speaking to media persons later at Sultanpur Lodhi.

He said that one month time had been given to the PPCB officials, their working and results would be monitored after a month. “Officials of any department responsible for pollution in water channels would be facing tough action and penal action would be initiated against them. What can be worse than the fact that people are not getting clean water or air,” he said.

He later also saw the treatment of waste water and utilization of treated water for irrigation at village Seechewal.