Municipal commissioner (MC) Shena Aggarwal has directed the department to resolve the contentious issue of dairies located near the Buddha Nullah on Tajpur Road and in Hambran area.
Aggarwal during the review meeting on the Buddha Nullah Rejuvenation Project and 27×4 surface water supply project held at the MC’s Zone-D office issued the directions.
Superintending engineer (SE O&M cell) Rajinder Singh said the commissioner has asked for early resolution of effluent from dairy units polluting the Buddha Nullah.
Earlier, the civic body had decided to shift the dairies in Noorpur Bet village but the decision was shelved following resistance from the residents, who said the setting up of dairies will cause pollution in their village.
Now, the municipal corporation is planning to set- up effluent treatment plants (ETPs) at the existing dairy complexes on Tajpur Road and Hambran Road for treating the waste.
The move comes following instructions from retired Justice Jasbir Singh, chairperson of National Green Tribunal monitoring committee, to curb direct discharge of waste from dairy units into Buddha Nullah.
The officials claimed that provision was kept in the Buddha Nullah Rejuvenation Plan, but the plan of installing ETPs was shelved after it was decided to shift the dairies on the outskirts of the city.
Recently, the project suffered a setback after Satguru Uday Singh, the head of the Namdhari sect, resigned as chairperson of the special task force (STF) overseeing the cleaning of the polluted stream.
Satguru had sent his resignation to chief minister Bhagwant Mann and reportedly expressed his disappointment at the slow pace of the cleaning project.
In his resignation letter, Satguru had reiterated his commitment to protect the environment and urged the CM to take a personal interest in cleaning the polluted Buddha Nullah that drains into the Sutlej River.
Press secretary Lakhvir Singh, Namdhari Darbar, said despite several requests, a biogas plant was not set up on Tajpur Road to stop cow dung from entering the Nullah.
On August 22, 2021, the canal department had initiated a ₹9.8-crore project to release clean water from Neelon Canal into Buddha Nullah, but the move did not meet much success as untreated waste from dyeing, dairies and sewerage continues to drain into the rivulet.
