The order comes after the Chief Justice saw photographs showing waste being dumped into Sidhwan Canal.

Jain also gave a dressing down to the Deputy Commissioner, Municipal Commissioner (MC), Ludhiana and the Superintending Engineer (SE) of the canal, present in the court on court directions, for playing the blame game.

Jain said the conditions prevailing in Buddha Nallah and Sidhwan Canal were atrocious.

Jain also directed the authorities to submit a status report in the case by February 18 and state the amount of funds available with them in order to clean up Buddha Nallah and Sidhwan Canal.

The committee to be constituted will be chaired by a Secretary- rank officer.

The Chief Justice has also directed the Chief Secretary of the Punjab State to appoint a Secretary-rank officer to ensure smooth functioning of the committee.

Photographs highlighting the sorry state of affairs of Sidhwan canal, which is a source of irrigation water to a number of villages in Punjab, were produced on record in the court by the P Ram committee.

The photographs attached clearly show bio-medical waste, solid waste, polythene bags and religious offerings strewn into the Sidhwan Canal.

The P Ram Committee, in its latest report, had pointed out that solid waste was still being dumped into the Nallah, especially at the bridge crossings and no cleanliness mechanism was seen in place.

Taking a strong note of this, the Chief Justice had summoned the DC, Municipal Commissioner, Ludhiana; Member, Secretary, Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB); Managing Director of Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board; Chief Town Planner, Punjab; District Town Planner, Ludhiana to remain present in the court on the next date of hearing.

In a recent letter, the P Ram Committee had written to the Deputy Commissioner and Municipal Commissioner for “demarcation of land and removal of encroachments”.

The Chief Secretary had directed that Deputy Commissioner and Additional Deputy Commissioner should play a pro-active role in demarcation of land and removal of encroachments and greening of these areas. He was also directed to hold fortnightly meetings with the Drainage Department, Municipal Corporation and the PPCB.

He should also tackle the problem of haphazard growth on the periphery of Ludhiana and disposal of solid waste into Sidhwan Canal.