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CETPs in Ludhiana: Industry pins blame on state for delay, wants funds in one go

Hindustan Times, Chandigarh | ByHarsimran Singh Batra, Ludhiana
Nov 21, 2019 11:09 PM IST

The industry rued that the state government is releasing the grant in parts besides delaying it, due to which they are also not able to get the grant from the Union government

Facing heat over delay in construction of three common effluent treatment plants (CETP) in the city, the representatives of the Tajpur Road and Focal Point dyeing industry have blamed the state government for the delay.

The industry rued that the state government is releasing the grant in parts besides delaying it, due to which they are also not able to get the grant from the Union government.

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The development comes in a recent meeting conducted by deputy commissioner (DC) Pradeep Kumar Agrawal with the members of the special purpose Vehicles (SPV) for the dyeing industries on Bahadurke Road, Tajpur Road and at Focal Point. The SPVs, formed for construction of the CETPs, includes industrialists and government officials from different departments including the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB).

Earlier during its visit to the city on November 15, the monitoring committee of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had directed the DC to intervene and speed up the construction work. In the absence of CETPs, the industry is allegedly dumping untreated waste into municipal corporation sewer lines, which is ultimately adding to the pollution in Buddha Nullah.

During the meeting, the industry representatives asked the DC to take up the matter with the state government and the NGT.

Punjab Dyers Association (PDA) general secretary Bobby Jindal said, “We had fought a fight in the NGT for getting 15 crore grant from the Union government, but the state has still failed to release the pending 6 crore (out of a total 7.5 crore) due to which the project is being delayed. The state releases the grant in instalments due to which the funds from Union government also come in parts.

Jindal said that the Union government has to release 15 crore and the state 7.5 crore each CETP. “If the government wants the projects to be completed within the deadline, then the grants should be released in one go. Also, as the government has decided to deduct 10% of the running bills, which would be returned after monitoring the project for one year, the contractor has increased the cost of the project by 2 crore.

Agrawal said the objections by the industry will be sent to the monitoring committee of the NGT for taking further action.

Industry, MC already at loggerheads

The industrialists said the MC House has approved a resolution that the sewer connections of dyeing units would be snapped after March 31, 2020, and the industry would not be allowed to dump waste into the sewer lines. They said, however, that the CETPs are getting delayed due to delay in funds from the state government.

Wants deadlines extended

The industry has demanded extension of deadlines for constructing the three common effluent treatment plants (CETPs) which were initiated around five years ago.

The deadline for the 15 million litres daily (MLD) Bahadurke Road CETP was September 30, but the industry has sought time till December 31 for completing the project.

The deadline for the 40 MLD Focal Point CETP is December 31 and that for 50MLD Tajpur Road CETP is March 31. While the cost of the former is around 62.5 crore, that of the latter is 80 crore.

The state and union government are to provide a grant of 22.5 crore and the rest will be paid by the industry. The state government is pressuring the industry to meet the deadlines but it has failed to do so due to delayed grants.

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