Most of the municipal councils in the border belt are functioning without a sewage treatment plant When things get bad, they really do. This, in essence, sums up the pollution scenario in the border district of Gurdaspur where two lifelines, Ravi and Beas, are being choked by stone crushers. Officially, Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) officials may paint a rosy picture and claim the rivers are pollution-free. Unofficially, they admit that despite the stringent mechanism put in place by the board, things will not improve till industrialists, particularly those owing stone-crushing units, ‘discipline’ themselves. “Till that happens, which is highly unlikely, pollutants will continue to flow into the Ravi and Beas," said Manjit Singh Dala, a Gurdaspur resident who lives near a polluted drain that flows in front of Abul Khair gurdwara. Main violators The economy of Pathankot is based on stone-crushing. The town is situated in the foothills where the Chakki, Ravi and Beas enter the plains and deposit boulders. There are 211 stone-crushers in and around the town. Though the PPCB authorities claim that these units are not allowed to operate till they get ‘air and water pollution consent’ certificates, yet many flout norms with impunity. Earlier, a majority of them were located near the Chakki river near Mirthal. Now these units have shifted to the banks of the Ravi. A senior PPCB official admitted that in the past one month, seven crushers had been sealed. But sources claimed that this step was a mere eyewash as 50-odd units were still polluting the Ravi. Environmentalists say rapid industrialisation, urbanisation and non-sustainable development have led to the establishment of a number of industries and commercial complexes which, in turn, have aggravated the problem of water pollution. Urban water pollution Shocking, but true. There are nine municipal councils (MCs) in this border district. Barring one, the rest are not in a financial position to install sewage treatment plants (STP). Lack of STPs is leading to water pollution in almost all major towns of the district. The PPCB has now initiated the process of issuing notices to erring MCs. Paramjit Singh, Executive Engineer, PPCB, said that industrialists flouting pollution norms were not being spared. “The PPCB is very strict as far as enforcing norms are concerned. We are not allowing effluents to be discharged into the Ravi, Beas, Chakki and Ujh and anybody found to be violating rules is being issued notices,” he claimed. Erring local bodies The MCs in Gurdaspur, Qadian, Fatehgarh Churian, Dhariwal, Sri Hargobindpur, Dinanagar, Batala and Sujanpur have no STP. Only the Dera Baba Nanak MC has installed a treatment plant while the land acquisition process has been initiated for setting up an STP at Fatehgarh Churian. On innumerable occasions, the PPCB has called executive officers (EOs) and presidents of these MCs for a ‘hearing’. But things are back to square one once these ‘hearings’ are over. To make matters worse, there are not many EOs to manage the affairs of all nine MCs. It is the job of EOs to monitor pollution levels. Following the dissolution of MCs, administrators have been appointed to run the day-to-day affairs of the local bodies. “We could not set up an STP because of lack of funds,” said Jatinder Kalyan, former president of the Batala Municipal Council. Dr SS Nijjar, a Batala-based activist, said: “If the Batala MC faces a financial crunch, I will launch a drive to collect money to ensure that an STP is installed. A light shower in the city means that the town's narrow bylanes are clogged by sewage.” The Pathankot MC received Rs 22 crore under a Central Government scheme to establish an STP at Ladochak village. The plant which was to be operational by December last year has yet to see the light of the day. In Batala, industrial effluents and wastewater falls into the 30-ft-wide Hansli drain. Statistics reveal that Batala has more than 700 small and middle industrial units, including 400 foundries. The effluents discharged by these units go untreated. “We are on the brink of a pollution disaster but the government is not allocating funds to set up STPs. Industrial waste, particularly when dissolved with water, is lethal,” said a senior MC official. In Sujanpur, the Amarinder Singh government had released funds in 2007. “However, with the change of government, things fell flat. Now all effluents fall into the Upper Bari Doab Canal (UBDC), polluting the river,” said an official. Gurdaspur Deputy Commissioner Dr Abhinav Trikha claimed that he was in regular touch with the PPCB to check “undue discharge of effluents” into the Ravi and Beas. Funds are the main impediment in desilting the Ravi, Beas and Chakki rivers that flow near Pathankot. Inderjit Mahajan, SDO, Drainage Department, said the Upper Bari Doab Canal was desilted after 40 years in 2011. Voicing dissent Manjit Singh DalaWastewater from industries and different commercial activities is discharged into rivers, streams and drains resulting in river pollution. Due to the high pollution levels, the quality of water in the Ravi and Beas has degraded. The flora and fauna have been affected too — Manjit Singh Dala, a Gurdaspur resident A majority of units in the industrial hub of Batala are polluting air. There are not many water-polluting industries in Batala or Gurdaspur — Dharam Pal, General Manager, Industries