Following instructions from the chairperson of National Green Tribunal monitoring committee Justice Jasbir Singh (retd) to curb direct discharge of waste coming from dairy units into Buddha Nullah, the civic officials are now planning to go ahead with installation of effluent treatment plants (ETPs) at the existing dairy complexes on Tajpur Road and Hambran Road. The officials claimed that provision was kept in the project plan of Buddha Nullah rejuvenation plan, but since there was a plan to shift the dairies to city’s outskirts, they could not go ahead with the move on ETPs.
During the visit of NGT monitoring committee on April 27, Justice Jasbir Singh had questioned the planning of civic officials, saying that earlier too, their sewage treatment plants (STPs) had failed due to discharge of harmful chemicals coming from industries and dairy waste. Still they have not planned anything about the dairy waste, so it would be a complete setback for this project as well, he had added. However, the MC commissioner had taken a plea that they did not find a suitable place to shift the dairy units, so they could not do anything. But they were told strictly to move ahead and take some steps to avoid previous mistakes.
Rajinder Singh, superintending engineer of operation and maintenance cell, MC, said, “There was already scope of ETPs in the proposal of Buddha Nullah project and we were only waiting if there was any scope of shifting the dairy units or not.” He said they will have to install the ETPs, if they have to make the drain free of pollution.
Punjab Pollution Control Board officials have already highlighted that without finding solution to the dairy discharge, they cannot solve the issue of Buddha Nullah pollution, because the samples will not fulfil the required criteria.
For the past 10 to 12 years, there has been a plan to shift dairy units, but the authorities could not do much in this regard except for locating a few sites in far-off villages. Some 10 years ago, the authorities had located land in villages like Gorsian Kadar Baksh, Dhanansu and Khasi, but the search is still going on for suitable land where these units could be shifted. Also for the past two years, officials also tried to get change of land use facility for the dairy farmers, so that they could shift on their own but this move too could not be finalised.
