Punjab govt scraps textile park project near Mattewara forest in Ludhiana

The Punjab government on Monday decided to scrap the proposed textile park project near the Mattewara forest area in Ludhiana.

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said no industrial unit will be set up at the proposed site near the Mattewara forests for ''saving the precious water resources and woods of the state''.

''I will categorically like to announce that not only in Mattewara but the state government will not allow any industry to come up on the river banks of Punjab to avoid any sort of water pollution,'' said the chief minister.

The decision was taken by the chief minister following a meeting here with the members of PAC (Public Action Committee), an NGO which was spearheading a protest against the setting up of a mega integrated textile region and apparel park, citing environmental concerns given its proximity to Mattewara forest and Sutlej river.

Mann alleged that former chief minister Amarinder Singh gave nod to this project, envisaged by the Union government for setting up a textile park over 1,000 acres of land, without ''even thinking about its pros and cons''.

''The proposed project site is located near the Mattewara forests and on flood plains of river Sutlej. But the Captain (Amarinder Singh) government totally ignored the castigating effects which this project will have on the environment and ecology of the state,'' said Mann here.

He said that apart from cutting of trees, this project would have also led to ''massive pollution in the river water thereby jeopardising the human life along with flora and fauna in the region.'' Mann said his government after coming to power minutely studied the project and found that this will ''disturb the ecological balance of the area''.

He said, ''Keeping in view the repercussions of this project on the environment and human life, the state government has decided that no industrial unit will be set up on this land. Rather, the Punjab government will preserve these 'green arteries' of the state by all means.'' Mann said his government is ready to allot any new chunk of land for this proposed textile park with the condition that it does not pollute the waters of the state.

Earlier, Punjab Science technology and environment minister Hayer said the CM has decided to scrap the project while respecting the sentiments of the people of the state.

''Chief Minister @BhagwantMann ji has announced scrapping of the Mattewara project. We welcome this announcement of the chief minister. The AAP government is the government of the people and it believes in taking all decisions with the opinion of the public,'' said Hayer in a tweet.

The decision came a day after people, including social activists, political leaders, farmer leaders and environmentalists, held a protest at Ludhiana against the proposed textile park project.

The previous Amarinder Singh-led government had conceived the project in July 2020. This project was mooted under the Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel Parks (PM MITRA) scheme. The Centre has proposed to set up seven such parks in the country.

One of the basic requirements for this project is that the state government should have the availability of encumbrance-free land of 1,000 acres for this project.

The government had already acquired 957.39 acres of land for the project.

The project was then red-flagged by locals and environmentalists, expressing fear that it would disturb the biodiversity of the Mattewara forest area and would also pollute Sutlej river.

After meeting Mann here on Monday, one of the representatives of the PAC told the media that the chief minister told them that no industrial park near the Mattewara forest area would be set up.

''The CM heard us during the meeting. He also told us that this issue is close to his heart,'' said the PAC representative.