Badal unveils multi-crore project to clean rivers

Under the plans,Satluj will be cleaned at a cost of Rs 1,076 crore,Beas at Rs 222 crore and Rs 90 crore will be spent on the cleaning of the Sirhind canal.

The CM said the pollution of river system was broadly because of the municipal and industrial waste falling directly into these rivers or indirectly,through drains.

Giving details of the plans for the three water bodies,Badal said 14 cities were polluting the Satluj. He said that Rs 416 crore had been sanctioned for Ludhiana ,Rs 19.8 crore for Machiwara and Rs 18.84 crore for Kurali,to the local bodies and the Punjab Pollution Control Board so that plans can be put in place to check the menace of pollution by the industry based in this region.

Badal said a separate common effluents treatment plant (CETP) had been set up for electroplating industry,and likewise,two more CETPs were being set up through the special purpose vehicle formed by the dying industry. The relevant data and information had already been submitted to Central Pollution Control Board for deciding the most suitable technology,he added.

On the action plan for cleaning Beas river,Badal said that as many as 11 cities caused pollution in the river. He said the state government had already sanctioned a project worth Rs 93.25 crore for installation of sewerage treatment plants (STPs) at Pathankot (Rs 62.5 crore),Kapurthala (Rs 22.17 crore) and Sultanpur Lodhi (Rs 8.58 crore). DPRs for the remaining eight cities would be ready by January 31,he claimed.

To clean the Sirhind canal system,Nangal,Anandpur Sahib and Ropar had been allotted Rs 21 crore,Rs 15 crore and Rs 54 crore,respectively,for laying down sewerage systems and installation of STPs,the CM said.

Badal said that the PPCB had been entrusted with the task to ensure suitable technology and insure zero discharge in the canal from the units of Bhakra Beas Management Board,National Fertilizer Limited,Punjab Alkalies and Chemical Limited and the Ropar Thermal Plant.

The programme would help provide clean water to the districts of Ropar,Ludhiana,Sangrur,Barnala,Bathinda,Moga,Mansa,Faridkot,Muktsar and Patiala . The PPCB has also been asked to ensure the use of treated waste water for irrigation purposes.

‘Bathinda refinery will start work by mid-2011’

Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today said the Rs 18,919-crore Bhatinda Refinery project,being set up by the LN Mittal group,would become functional by the middle of 2011. Talking to the media here,Badal said more than 54 per cent of work had already been completed as on September 15 this year. Of the proposed Rs 19,000-crore outlay,Rs 15,500 crore had already been committed for expenditure,of which Rs 6,400 crore had already been spent,said the CM. In addition,orders worth Rs 9,100 crore had also been placed for timely completion of the biggest project ever to be set up in Punjab,he added.

‘Guru Granth Sahib varsity to start courses by March ’11’

The Guru Granth Sahib World University,Fatehgarh Sahib,would commence its academic activities from March,2011. A decision to this effect was taken during a meeting of Guru Granth Sahib Memorial Trust held here under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. The vice-chancellor of the university,Dr Jasbir Singh Ahluwalia,said the construction work — which is being funded by the SGPC — was in full swing,and the remaining 20 per cent of the work would be completed by the end of March next year. The remaining allied services work would also be completed within 6-7 months after the completion of building construction.