Activists and Former ED Official Push for Accountability in Buddha Nullah Pollution Crisis
Amid the ongoing campaign “Kale Pani da Morcha” against the high pollution levels in Buddha Dariya, commonly known as Buddha Nullah, former Deputy Director of the ED, Niranjan Singh—a well-known figure in Punjab—visited the site in Ludhiana on Friday to conduct an on-the-spot assessment of its pollution. He was accompanied by activists from Naroa Punjab Manch and the Public Action Committee, who are spearheading the Kale Pani da Morcha.
After seeing the water coming out of the sewage treatment plant in Jamalpur and the common effluent treatment plants of 40 and 50 MLD from the dyeing industry, he asked why the water was not being treated before being released. When told it was treated water, he was taken aback.
Speaking to journalists at the site, he said that the main purpose of his visit was to find out why no effective solution had been found for the pollution of Punjab’s rivers, especially the Buddha Dariya and Sutlej, for such a long time. He wanted to understand “if this was due to connivance and corruption among pollution control authorities and polluters, particularly those in the industry, and whether the ED’s intervention was possible to tackle such corruption.” Answering questions, he said that if pollution control board officials or private industry owners conspire to pollute rivers or groundwater, the ED has the discretion to take action against them under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, as such earnings can be considered proceeds of crime. He added that the ED can also take action against politicians if they are found obstructing officers or industrial owners from doing proper work according to the norms and the law.
On this occasion, Kuldeep Singh Khaira of the Public Action Committee (work for protection of Matewara Forest, Sutlej, and Buddha Dariya) said that the ED had taken cognizance of the matter and acted in the case of a liquor factory’s groundwater pollution at Zira, which was dumping its effluents via borewells into the ground.
Jaskirat Singh of Naroa Punjab Manch said that if institutions like the Punjab Pollution Control Board have failed to do their job in making Buddha Dariya clean, they will not hesitate to find other institutions that can be more effective in tackling pollution and corruption together to clean rivers and save people from drinking toxic water.
Niranjan Singh further informed that he had also met Dr. Kirpal Singh Aulukh, the former Vice Chancellor of PAU, who had headed the committee that prepared the first report on Buddha Dariya pollution in 2007. He had obtained a copy of the report and would study it to find out why successive governments could not follow its recommendations and if any officers and politicians could be held accountable under the law for such a crime against humanity.