Chandigarh, November 13 - Haryana Forest and Environment Minister Rao Narbir Singh said that the state government is fully serious about environmental pollution control and strict action is being taken as per the guidelines issued by NGT and Supreme Court. He said that effective control over pollution is possible only when all the concerned departments work in coordination and its results are clearly visible at the ground level.
Forest and Environment Minister Rao Narbir Singh was chairing a high-level meeting of the Haryana State Pollution Control Board convened here today. Additional Chief Secretary of the Environment and Forest Department Mr. Sudhir Rajpal, Chairman of the Pollution Control Board Mr. Vineet Garg, Managing Director of HSIIDC Mr. Yash Garg and other senior officers were present in the meeting. The current situation of environmental pollution control in the state was reviewed in the meeting and a detailed discussion was held on the future action plan.
The Minister directed that no industrial or sewage polluted water should enter the Yamuna river. For this, CCTV cameras should be installed under the supervision of CETP and STP established on 11 drains of the Yamuna catchment area. He said that a nodal department and a nodal officer should be nominated for each drain, who should inspect regularly and submit reports. The regional officers of the Pollution Control Board will have to visit the industries and check the current condition of the STP, so that it can be ensured that no polluted water reaches the Yamuna.
Rao Narbir Singh said that the Pollution Control Board should share the list of tractor-tankers carrying sewage water from the colonies with the Police Department. He said that after emptying water at STP, it should be made mandatory for tankers to take receipt from there, so that it can be ensured that the water is discharged at the designated place. It was also informed in the meeting that a total of 242 tankers are registered with the department in the Yamuna catchment area, and to check illegal tankers, the police department has been instructed to set up checkpoints especially in Sonipat and Panipat districts and seize such vehicles.
Regarding air pollution control, the minister said that regular inspection of pollution testing equipment installed at petrol pumps should be done to control the smoke emitted from vehicles. He also said that at present only 1 company issues pollution certificates, the arrangement of their control will be handed over to the State Pollution Control Board in place of the Transport Department, a proposal will be sent to the government soon.
He said that pollution control should not be limited to papers only, but its concrete impact should be seen in the lives of the people. He directed the officials to work in coordination with each other, assign responsibilities and prioritize the goal of providing clean air and clean water to the public.