Hanumangarh Zila Parishad files petition before National Green Tribunal Concerned over high pollution levels in the Indira Gandhi Canal, the Hanumangarh Zila Parishad has filed a petition before the National Green Tribunal seeking directions to ensure that the Punjab government takes immediate steps in checking inflow of pollutants into Sutlej and Beas rivers. The Indira Gandhi Canal supplies drinking and irrigation water to eight districts in north-west Rajasthan. It begins from Harike Barrage at the confluence of Sutlej and Beas rivers in Punjab and enters Hanumangarh after passing through Sirsa in Haryana. The Indira Gandhi Canal irrigates Hanumagarh, Ganganagar, Bikaner, Churu (through Aapni Yojana), Nagaur, Jaisalmer, Barmer and Jodhpur. The water is also used under the Indira Gandhi Nahar Project (IGNP) to supply drinking water to two crore people living in these districts. The petition filed in May, will be taken up for hearing on July 21. The applicants want the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to pass an order directing the respondents, including the State of Punjab, and the Ministry of Environment and Forests, to take immediate steps to check pollution in Sutlej which is the main source of pollution of Indira Gandhi Canal because of a large number of industries situated in Ludhiana from where the river passes. Citing several national and international scientific studies which have drawn attention to the high levels of pollution in Sutlej and the Indira Gandhi Canal, the applicants – Shobha Singh, chairperson of Hanumangarh Zila Parisha, Shabnam Godara, deputy chairperson of the Zila Parishad and Rajendra Prasad, vice-chairperson of Panchayat Samiti Hanumangarh – have said that the petition was being filed for the protection of fundamental, legal and customary rights of the people of Hanumangarh. It said the Punjab government had failed to perform the duties in accordance with law laid down by various statutes for checking water pollution. The petition further says that the Indira Gandhi Canal is more polluted than the permissible limits of particulates, chemicals and biological organisms as shown by various studies conducted by the government bodies, government functionaries and private organizations. There are 1332 hazardous waste generating industries in and around Ludhiana. The main industries are dyeing, electroplating and induction furnace manufacturing, generating 5498 MT of waste. Water pollution can cause cancer, hepatitis, gastro-enteritis, jaundice and other circulatory, respiratory and skin diseases, the petition claims. Hanumangarh Zila Parishad files petition before National Green Tribunal