Author: Anchal Mattu

INTRODUCTION

The real breakthrough is assumed to be in the form of the intervention made by National Green Tribunal (NGT) in matters relating to restoring the pollutant-wretched BUDHHA NULLAH of district Ludhiana in the state of Punjab in India.

Once called Budhha Dariya, with its religious and historical significance linked with Shri Guru Nanak Dev, the industrial growth of the district came as a harbinger for the pillage of the river and its degradation to a title- “the river from hell”.

THE INDUSTRIAL GROWTH OF LUDHIANA

Ludhiana was not always the ‘Manchester of India’. Prior to the British advent, it was a small city with no major market achievements and the market limited to slave trade. However, the famine of Kashmir gave way to immigrants skilled in hosiery weaving to settle in and around Ludhiana. The real boost for this hosiery industry came with disruption of supply chains during world wars. It was then that the British government of colonial India brought in a Pro-India policy, raised import duties and promoted the then small scale hosiery industry in Ludhiana.

THE INEVITABLE TOLL ON ECOSYSTEM

Hosiery or any other textile industry is, in general parlance, inextricably linked to the dyeing industry. Therefore, around the 1980s, dyeing units of Ludhiana saw an expansion.  One side of this expansion was lucrative in the form of employment opportunities. However, the other side was fully catastrophic in the form of intoxication of the waters of Budhha Dariya by discharge of carcinogenic, poisonous and lethal waste into it. These include cadmium, arsenic, formaldehyde, hydro-based softeners. 

Further, where industry thrives, so does the population diversity and size. With the absence of an efficient management and administration, such a ‘thriving’, can prove to have dire consequences on limited natural resources. A testament to it is the Budhha Dariya which is heavily dumped with untreated sewage waste. Cumulatively, such activities have reduced the water source from a Dariya to Nullah, more so to a river from hell.

THE SEQUENCE OF INITIATIVES-

One of the first steps to cure the curse of Buddha Nullah came in the form of an application filed before NGT by Nitin Dhiman demanding an enquiry into the performance of three Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs) set up for treating effluent waste of dyeing industries. The tribunal shifted to a ‘continuing mandamus mode’ requiring periodic reports from authorities as has it been empowered to do under section 14 read with sections 15,19 and 20 of NGT Act, 2010.

However, despite such action by the tribunal, there were no on ground results. The only increase was that of the paperwork related to implementation of directions, devoid of any visible results being delivered. 

The source of a firm intervention by the tribunal came to be a suo moto cognizance of a news article by  NGT whereby it was alleged that around 54 dyeing located in the Nullah catchment were  not connected to CETPs. Deeming it so fit, due to commonness of issues, NGT clubbed the Nitin Dhiman application with the suo moto proceedings.

The inadequacy of the reports submitted in Nitin Dhiman application made it quite clear that Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) and district authorities were not able to contain the extensivity of the pollution. Therefore, in the clubbed proceedings, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) was involved to ensure compliance with the directions issued by the Tribunal.

During these clubbed proceedings, a status or progress report was filed by the Deputy Commissioner of Ludhiana in the form of an affidavit relying on the data of PPCB and Municipal Corporation, Ludhiana. The report revealed that out of the 54 dyeing units, only a limited agreed to adoption of Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD). The ones agreeing were mostly the larger units having financial and technical capacity to do so. Many small- scale units were directed to stop wet processes altogether. The compliance rate of this direction was quite uneven. Remaining were those units which did not adhere to either of the solutions , ZLD or wet processing, due to which coercive measures were adopted for these. These units were made liable to pay environmental compensation under section 33A of Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 as well as there was issued a strict direction for closure of these units. 

At a later stage of these proceedings, it was realized that mere regulatory compliance or periodic reporting do not suffice for a complete solution. A scientific study needs to be taken into this issue. Therefore, a high- level meeting chaired by Chief Secretary of Punjab was convened by PPCB. In this meeting, it was decided to involve IIT- Ropar and IIT- Roorkee for a technical study of the samples of discharged effluent from all three CETPs . Following this, a study was commissioned to IIT Ropar by PPCB for source- apportionment and an affidavit regarding the same was filed with NGT. The deadline for submission of the report by IIT Ropar has been set as 31st of March, 2026.

LEGAL BACKING FOR THE ACTIONS

Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974

The regulatory framework governing the Buddha Nullah pollution primarily flows from Section 24, which prohibits discharge of polluting matter into any stream, and Section 25, which mandates prior consent of the State Pollution Control Board for discharge of trade effluents. The PPCB  derives its monitoring and enforcement powers from Section 17, while the CPCB is empowered under Section 16 to provide technical oversight and coordinate compliance. Enforcement measures, including closure of units and imposition of environmental compensation, are authorised under Section 33A of the Act.

Environment (Protection) Act, 1986

The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 provides the statutory basis for intervention in the Buddha Nullah pollution. Section 3 empowers the Central Government to take all necessary measures for environmental protection, including commissioning scientific studies. Under Section 5, binding directions may be issued for closure, regulation, or stoppage of polluting activities. The requirement to comply with prescribed environmental standards flows from Section 7, while Section 10 authorises inspection, sampling, and data collection. Non-compliance with statutory directions attracts penal consequences under Section 15.

National Green Tribunal Act, 2010

The proceedings relating to Buddha Nullah are anchored in the jurisdiction of the National Green Tribunal under Section 14, which empowers it to adjudicate civil cases involving substantial environmental questions. The Tribunal’s remedial and compensatory powers flow from Section 15, enabling directions for restitution of the environment. Procedural flexibility, including reliance on expert reports and periodic monitoring, is facilitated by Section 19, while Section 20 mandates application of the principles of sustainable development, precautionary principle, and polluter pays principle in all decisions.

CONCLUSION

“What Goes About, Comes Around”

This saying is very much the essence of the harm that we do to nature. Personal greed becomes the encouraging factor for a profit- centric approach in business, even if such profits come at the expense of deterioration of natural resources. This is the baseline for the pollution of the once clean Budhha Dariya. 

The detrimental effects of the pollution are visible in the health of the people in proximity to the polluted source. The unintended and unwanted rise in the magnitude of cancer patients, skin disease victims are some of the most common ramifications of the pollution of Budhha Dariya. What also becomes of greater concern is the decline in crop quality. This is not just a direct hit on the income of agriculturists but also on the health of the consumers. 

The more saddening part of the scenario is the unwillingness on the part of the industries to act vigilantly and do good the loss. The partial success of all initiatives taken in respect of rectifying the adversity caused by pollution have been stymied by the reluctance of industries to correct their practices and act socially responsible towards nature and the community. Even in the present case being discussed, only two or three of the 54 units were acting staunchly in compliance with the directions, while the remaining were still more concerned about their personal financial interests.

This ignorance is not just visible in the acts of industries but also in the acts of governmental bodies like the Municipal Corporation which makes little to no effort to check the performance of the water treatment plant; the result of which is discharge of untreated sewage water into the Nullah. This is a major cause for most vector- borne and water- borne diseases in the surrounding areas.

The present proceedings are still pending before NGT and the involvement of a neutral central body gives a silver lining hope that something positive will happen. The report by IIT Ropar is yet to be released. The one thing we can hope for is a well organised plan for restoration of the river health and the last thing we can want is another unsystematic scheme which does nothing but paralysing the implementation machinery further.