Congress MLA from Danilimda constituency Shailesh Parmar was reprimanded by the Legislative Assembly Speaker Shankar Chaudhary on Friday for bringing an alleged contaminated groundwater sample in a plastic bottle to the House, in an effort to support his allegations that a private company in Mahisagar was flouting environmental norms.
The incident unfolded during Question Hour after Congress MLA from Khedbrahma Tushar Chaudhary sought details from the government regarding action taken against alleged chemical contamination of groundwater surrounding the dumping site of Maurya Enviro Project Private Limited in Jamiyatpura, Balasinor in Mahisagar. The MLA stated in the House that nearly 29 villages in the vicinity are affected due to the contaminated water.
Responding on behalf of the state government, Minister of State for Forest and Environment Pravin Mali informed the House that five complaints had been received in 2024 and 2025 regarding alleged chemical contamination of wells in the surrounding areas of Maurya Enviro Project Private Limited.
Mali said that based on these complaints, the Gujarat Pollution Control Board has taken more than 26 samples of groundwater from the premises of the unit as well as from outside on February 3,2024, April 12, 2024, August 16, 2024, December 3, 2024 and April 18,2025.
Mali informed the house that based on the inspections of groundwater samples collected from within the premises as well as from the surrounding villages during these inspection visits, there did not appear to be any significant or long-term contamination of groundwater quality and the few changes observed in water quality were minor and transient.
Dissatisfied with the response, Independent MLA from Bayad Dhavalsinh Zala questioned the state government, asking whether it was keen to close down the unit or not, “The Chief Minister had called the SDM in front of me last year when I had apprised him of the situation. Despite that it is still running,” Zala added.
Unconvinced by the minister’s report, Congress MLA Shailesh Parmar, who contested for the deputy speaker post this year, stood and displayed a plastic water bottle, asserting it was proof of contamination near the dumping site. “Five complaints of contamination in ground water have been received not from any influential people or politicians but from villagers. This is a sample taken last week during a visit to the affected villages,” Parmar said.
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Responding to the issue, Cabinet Minister Forest and Environment Arjun Modhwadia apprised the House that an order to close down the factory had been issued twice with the order last being issued on May 27,2024 but the company got relief in the form of a stay from the High Court.
“The environmental NoC is valid till August 2026. Once this expires based on the complaints, the government will take appropriate action. The government is ready to inspect the unit and take action against the company,” Modhwadia said.
Right after the Question Hour, in response to Cabinet Minister Jitu Vaghani’s Point of Order against Parmar’s action of displaying a water bottle, Parmar defended what he did, saying that being a senior House member he was aware of the rules.
Reacting to the incident, Speaker Shankar Chaudhary told the MLAs that Assembly rules did not allow them to bring any material from outside and display it in the House. Further questioning the authenticity of the claim he criticised the move saying such actions posed potential risk within the Assembly. The Speaker warned Parmar, telling him that if such an incident was repeated strict action would be taken against the MLA.
