Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament Satnam Singh Sandhu praised the central government for the efforts being made to clean the rivers of Punjab from pollution.
The Minister of State for Water Power informed the Parliament about the initiatives taken for de-pollution and revitalization of rivers in Punjab.
New Delhi: The central government has approved a budget of Rs 57.11 crore for revitalization and de-pollution of Ghaggar river in Punjab under the National River Conservation Plan (NRCP) and released a budget of Rs 483.53 crore for Sutlej and Beas rivers. Union Minister of State for Jal Shakti Raj Bhushan Chowdhury answered a question asked by Member of Parliament (Raj Sabha) Satnam Singh Sandhu during the ongoing Sardarut session of Parliament.
The Minister of Jal Shakti said through the written reply that sewage treatment with a capacity of 648 MLD (million liters per day) has also been installed for these rivers under the NRCP. An amount of Rs. 32.61 crore has also been released by the Central Government for the implementation of these schemes. 15 million liters per day (MLD) sewage treatment was installed.
While raising the issue of revitalization of rivers in Punjab, Member of Parliament (Raj Sabha) Satnam Singh Sandhu, in his question in the Parliament, the initiatives taken by the government for de-pollution and detoxification of Ghaggar river, Punjab, Haryana for cleaning the river. And sought information about the grants issued to Rajasthan and the steps taken by the government to save all the rivers of Punjab.
Minister of State for Water Power Raj Bhushan Chaudhary said in a written reply that according to the data shared by the Punjab Pollution Control Board with the Central Government regarding the work being done to solve the waste water of the cities coming in the nearby areas of the Ghaggar River, 291.7 MLD 28 STPs with a total capacity of 97 MLD have been set up and the work of setting up 15 STPs of 97 MLD is in progress in different streams. Under the NRCP, plans were approved for de-pollution of the Ghaggar river in Punjab and a budget of Rs 57.11 crore was passed. Under this scheme, a fund of Rs 32.61 crore was released by the central government and a sewage water treatment project with a capacity of 15 million liters per day (MLD) was set up to solve the problem of sewage.
While sharing information about reviving other rivers of Punjab, the Union Minister of State said that for Sutlej and Beas in Punjab, the Central Government has released a budget of Rs.483.53 crore and under NRCP, Rs. A project with a capacity of MLD has been installed. In order to overcome the problem of pollution of Sutlej river due to old canals, the Punjab Government has started a project to revive the old canals, which includes setting up STPs of 225 MLD and 60 MLD capacity, renovating four STPs, Two effluent treatment plants of 3.75 MLD capacity and Ludhiana with 2.25 MLD capacity. Waste water coming out of dairy complexes has been solved. In addition, general treatment plants of 40 MLD, 50 MLD and 15 MLD capacities have been commissioned in Ludhiana to prevent and control industrial effluents from clusters of small and large dyeing industries.
Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) Satnam Singh Sandhu said that Punjab is a state of rivers, which have been flowing here for centuries. But these rivers of ours have become polluted for the last several decades. The level of pollution is increasing due to the heavy presence of toxic waste in the water bodies of Punjab, which has already reached an alarming level. This not only causes cancer, skin diseases, gastroenteritis, diarrhea and various eye diseases. Problems are arising with diseases. This water has become unfit for irrigation (poisonous) and is severely affecting normal life. Besides, agricultural land has also become barren in many parts of the state.
Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the central government has taken unprecedented initiatives to revive the rivers of Punjab and restore them to their original form. The central government’s firm commitment to the conservation and rehabilitation of the country’s rivers can be gauged from the fact that for the first time in the 75-year history of independence, the government in 2019 created the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Ecology. And the Ministry of Water and Sanitation has been merged to form a separate Ministry by the name of Jal Shakti Ministry and in the last few years the cleanliness of the holy river Ganga has become a national mission. But apart from the government, the society should also make efforts for the cleanliness of its rivers. Everyone should come forward to implement the initiatives taken by the government. So that the pollution in the rivers can be completely eliminated.
Sandhu said that Ghaggar river is very important for the people of Punjab and Haryana. Central Government’s cycle projects for Ghaggar, Sutlej and Beas rivers will not only help in flood prevention, but they will also help in increasing agricultural production in the region.