The Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) on Thursday alleged that the management of Chadha Sugar Mill had not paid adequate attention to safety features due to which molasses spilled into the Beas. Chadha Sugar Mill and its two subsidiaries, A B Grain Spirits Private Limited and Adibe Broswon Brewerise are located on a 70-acre site in this village side by side. At the back is a storm drain, which leads to Beas river barely a kilometre away. It was into this storm drain that the molasses from the sugar mill flowed when it spilled from a storage tank into the Beas on May 16-17. Read | Molasses spill in Beas: PPCB orders criminal case against sugar mill, asks it to pay Rs 5 crore On Thursday, the PPCB said molasses from the mill spilled into the Beas as the management had not paid adequate attention to safety features. “It was an added duty of the mill to take the issue of industrial safety. more seriously in view of the fact that the industry is situated on river bed, which is environmentally sensitive zone,” the PPCB said. Munish Pal, manager at the sugar mill, however, said they did not release anything into the drain. “Not even a drop of clean water.” While the mill was found to have been at fault, the molasses spill has also underlined that the PPCB has no policy of disallowing industrial units near water bodies. “There is no policy of not permitting industries close to water bodies, but this episode will make way for such a policy. Such an accident has taken place for the first time. Regulatory bodies learn from such kind of accidents. and new protocols will be laid. All these things will have an impact on the PPCB policy,” said Chairman Kahan Singh Pannu who had sealed the factory in 2011. He was transferred from his post within three days of sealing the factory. Read | Molasses spill in Beas: Collect samples from rivers, submit report, NGT tells CPCB, PPCB The PPCB had sealed the mill for 10 days for illegally releasing effluent into the drain. The company had to pay a fine to start functioning again. “You don’t need to be an environmental expert to understand what led to this crisis. Ethically, the PPCB should not have approved the site plan to allow the distillery and sugar mill to construct their water treatment plant too close to the drain,” said Padma Shri recipient and environmental activist Balbir Singh Seechewal. Read | Molasses spill in Beas: PIL seeks action against mill “Allowing the sugar mill to construct its effluent treatment plants so close to the drain means that you have been providing an opportunity to the management to make an error. We are living in the state where industry is not known for following rules, forget about ethics. Hence lack of policy of Punjab Pollution Control Board and unprofessional approach of the officials who cleared the site plan of the treatment plants should also be blamed for the crisis. The units are on 70 acres. That is enough space to keep a good distance between the water treatment plants and drain,” said Seechewal whose restoration of Kali Bein is hailed as a model for the cleaning up of rivers. The effluent treatment plants at the mill are built at close proximity to the the drain at a height of 40 to 50 ft from the ground, an added risk factor.
