CM: No pollution will be allowed at Koom Kalan textile park

CHANDIGARH : Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday said that no river pollution will be allowed in the proposed Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel Parks at Koom Kalan in Ludhiana district and all environmental clearances and norms as fixed by the Centre and State Pollution Control Boards will be followed.

Replying to a call attention moved by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Hardeep Singh Mundian in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, the chief minister said that the central government has approved the scheme for setting up of seven PM Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel Parks (PM MITRA) in partnership with the interested state governments.

Under this scheme, a proposal for setting up the textile park at Koom Kalan has been sent. He said the environmental laws will be followed to ensure that there is no pollution of river water or any sort of health hazard for the people, he said.

“The ambitious scheme will help in attracting investments on one hand and opening new vistas of employment for the youth on another,” he added.

The CM said that one of the basic requirements for the project is that the interested state government should have ready availability of contiguous and encumbrance free land parcel of 1000 acres for this project.

Bajwa raised pollution issue in letter to CM

Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa, in a letter to Mann separately on Tuesday, had drawn his attention towards the various environmental issues that arise due to the proposed textile park on the banks of the Sutlej adjacent to the ancient forests of Mattewara, urging him to reconsider the project. “Water pollution is a known issue facing Punjab. Any project adjacent to forests, I fear, will do far more damage to the surrounding ecosystem and further degrade the quality of land and water in the state,” he wrote.

Khaira questions ₹780-cr outlay for Sirhind canal

Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira on Tuesday questioned the budgetary provisions of ₹780 crore for the Sirhind Feeder canal that takes water from the Bhakra Dam reservoir to Rajasthan.

“It seems as if it’s Rajasthan’s state budget. When Punjab is not going to get a drop of water from the canal, why are we spending huge funds on it,” he asked the treasury benches, when the discussion on the budget resumed.