Violating the laid norms, the Punjab Effluent Treatment Society has been operating a common effluent treatment plant at the Leather Complex here without having requisite permission from the pollution authorities. Inquiries made by The Tribune found out that the sanction by the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) to operate the plant, having 5 million litres of discharge per day, had expired on July 26 last year. Nazar Singh, Senior Environmental Engineer at PPCB, confirmed the development: “The permission to operate the plant was valid only till July 26 last year.” Despite repeated attempts, the society’s chief executive officer and secretary, Steven Kler and Ajay Sharma, were not available for comment. Incidentally, Kler is the brother of Avinash Chander, Chief Parliamentary Secretary and an MLA of the ruling Akali Dal from Phillaur. If senior authorities in the PPCB were to be believed, operating a plant without approval was a major violation that could land the society in trouble. They said it was an offence under the Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, and Air (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1981. They even said that the society was allegedly a habitual violator of pollution norms. PPCB files complaint Perturbed with non-compliance with the regulations, the PPCB has filed a criminal case against the society, its board of directors, secretary and two others in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Jalandhar. The matter will come up for hearing on August 12. Kala Sanghian continues to be Jalandhar’s bane One of the worst affected drains in terms of pollution in Jalandhar is Kala Sanghian, which originates from Bullandpur village and flows to Chiti Bein, a drain that finally connects to the Sutlej Because of the toxic waste being discharged into Kala Sanghian, mainly from tanneries, the underground water in many villages of Jalandhar has become polluted The intake of impure water has left the people suffering from various diseases, including cancer On February 28, 2011, the Jalandhar administration took up a project to clean the drain within a month, but nothing much has happened so far