NHRC notice to Governments of Punjab and Haryana over reports of heavily polluted Ghaggar river (05.6.2014)
PRESS RELEASE
New Delhi, 5th June, 2014
The National Human Rights Commission has taken suo motu cognizance of a media report that river Ghaggar, running through Punjab and Haryana, has over past several years turned into a polluted water body. Twenty villages in Mansa district of Punjab, situated alongside the Ghaggar, are witness to the water changing its colour from blue to black which makes tough for anybody to even stand near the river, let alone using it for irrigation or drinking purposes. The main cause of the pollution is stated to be effluents being released into the river by factories, upstream in various parts of Punjab and Haryana.
The Commission has observed that the contents of the media report, if true, raises a serious issue of violation of right to pollution free environment of the residents of the area. It has issued notices to the Chief Secretaries of Governments of Punjab and Haryana calling for a report within two weeks.
Reportedly, the State Government of Punjab had failed to take any initiative to tackle the menace. The Chairman of Punjab Pollution Control Board claimed that it was an inter-state issue and the pollution was mostly coming from Haryana whereas there was zero pollution from Punjab.
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New Delhi, 5th June, 2014
The National Human Rights Commission has taken suo motu cognizance of a media report that river Ghaggar, running through Punjab and Haryana, has over past several years turned into a polluted water body. Twenty villages in Mansa district of Punjab, situated alongside the Ghaggar, are witness to the water changing its colour from blue to black which makes tough for anybody to even stand near the river, let alone using it for irrigation or drinking purposes. The main cause of the pollution is stated to be effluents being released into the river by factories, upstream in various parts of Punjab and Haryana.
The Commission has observed that the contents of the media report, if true, raises a serious issue of violation of right to pollution free environment of the residents of the area. It has issued notices to the Chief Secretaries of Governments of Punjab and Haryana calling for a report within two weeks.
Reportedly, the State Government of Punjab had failed to take any initiative to tackle the menace. The Chairman of Punjab Pollution Control Board claimed that it was an inter-state issue and the pollution was mostly coming from Haryana whereas there was zero pollution from Punjab.
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