Taking action against paper mill Shreyance Industries Limited, Banah, Nawanshahr, the PPCB asked it to stop polluting the river and work under norms prescribed by the board.

The PPCB also asked the industry to provide a water retaining wall of 1-metre width and 0.5-metre height along the bank of the river to avoid spillage and operate pollution control devices regularly and efficiently to achieve standards set by the board.

The industry has also been asked to furnish a bank guarantee of Rs 25 lakh as an assurance that standards prescribed by the board for various pollutants were respected. Within three months, the industry would also provide adequate land to divert its treated effluents.

In January last, the then Balachaur SDM Upkar Singh, acting on the complaints of residents of Rail Majra and Tousa villages, had served show-cause notices on four companies, including Shreyans, Ranbaxy Labs Limited, DSM Anti-infectives Limited and Max India Limited, and asked them to stop discharging effluents in the river or face closure.

The three companies, except Sheryans, replied to their notices. Subsequently, Upkar Singh and Hoshiarpur PPCB SDO Ashok Garg with their teams went to the site and shot a video of the flow of effluents.

Notably, the pollution came to light at a medical camp organised in Tausa village in December last year, where residents complained about breathing problems, skin diseases, joint pains, throat and bone cancer and weak eyesight.