Industrial units in Punjab continue to discharge untreated effluents in open drains and water channels even though the state government has been campaigning for a greener Punjab. The lackadaisical approach of the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) in taking stern action against the industrial units flouting the norms is one of the major reasons behind the non-compliance of the norms. Though the PPCB functionaries claim they have been conducting regular raids at industrial units in the past year, the number of raids has gone down considerably. The Buddha Nullah in Ludhiana and Kala Sanghian drain in Jalandhar are the two worst-affected drains in the state. Buddha Nullah has now become a perennial problem for Ludhiana. Industrial units release untreated waste in the nullah late in the evening. The nullah stretches along 28 km and the jet black untreated effluents released into it are visible at certain places, thereby, belying the claims of the PPCB that all was well in Ludhiana. There are hundreds of dyeing and electroplating units in Ludhiana that generate hazardous waste. Though the authorities claim that dyeing units have installed individual Effluent Treatment Plants (ETPs), sources have said that many of the ETPs do not meet the prescribed norms and some are not even operational. Many of the electroplating and dyeing units are owned by political bigwigs. Similarly, a distillery in Banur also violates the pollution control norms. It has laid underground pipes and discharges its untreated waste in the Gunda Nullah in Jansuha village in Rajpura. The nullah merges with the 25 Dara drain, which flows into the Ghaggar. The board functionaries have failed to monitor the inflow of the toxic effluents into the Kala Sanghian drain even though the Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had directed the PPCB to do so in May 2011. In Amritsar district too, industrial units continue to release untreated waste in open drains through underground pipelines. The Chadha Sugars & Industries Ltd owned by Ponty Chadha group, in Kiri Afghana village, Gurdaspur, had been sealed by the PPCB twice on account of gross violations of pollution control norms. When allowed to operate, the mill reverts to its old practices and violates the norms again. “It is beyond our understanding why the PPCB does not impose harsh punishment to the mill owners and register cases against them,” said one of the board officials, preferring anonymity. PPCB chairman Ravinder Singh denied that Banur distillery released its untreated waste into the nullah in Rajpura. “The sewage from Chandigarh flows into the nullah and we have got water sampling which shows that the water is not toxic,” he claimed further. His reply was similar when asked about Buddha Nullah. “The electroplating units send their waste effluents to the Common Effluent Treatment Plant and dyeing units discharge treated waste into the Buddha Nullah. “In the Kala Sanghian drain, the Leather Complex waste is released only after being treated at the Leather Complex Treatment Plant,” he added.