SHUT down units if they are not adhering to the norms,” Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court Justice Tirath Singh Thakur today made it clear to the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB). The observation was made in the wake of an ongoing PIL demanding cleaning of the Buddha Nallah in the city.

The Chief Justice took a strong exception to the fact that despite norms laid down by the P Ram Committee, dyeing units were reportedly discharging effluents in the Buddha Nallah. The Chief Justice questioned the PPCB as to why these industrial units are not being shut down. “What is the impediment? If you find something wrong, what stops you from closing these units? Have you told any unit to shut down which is not adhering to the norms?” the Chief Justice asked the senior standing counsel of PPCB, Advocate A R Takkar.

The court observed that rather than going into the finer details, it wanted Punjab Chief Secretary to look into the matter. On the other hand, law officer for Punjab government sought a week’s time for filing the status report. The court made it clear that if the court finds that the Chief Secretary has not done anything wrong, then the court will take appropriate action. “If we find that he has not done anything wrong, then we will do something about it,” the Chief Justice observed. The Chief Secretary has been given a week’s time to file the status report with regard to the drain.

Advocate Takkar, who is also the counsel for the P Ram Committee, requested the court to monitor the case. He submitted that if the Buddha Nallah is to be saved, then zero-liquid discharge is the only solution. “Zero-liquid discharge is the only solution. The court has already ordered that no treated or untreated water should be discharged into the nallah. Neither Buddha Nallah nor the Satluj have enough water to take on heavy load of pollutants. Nothing can be added into the Buddha Nallah,” said Advocate Takkar.

Earlier, the Court took the dyeing units to task for taking the plea that they were discharging liquid into the nallah since all the other industrial units were doing so. “Do you have any fundamental right to pollute the nallah and make the lives of people miserable?” asked the Chief Justice.