The Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB), on the directions of National Green Tribunal (NGT), has ordered the closure of a distillery and collection of Rs 1-crore compensation from Piccadilly Sugar and Allied Industries Limited after it was found causing environment pollution.
The NGT had reportedly found the unit releasing stagnated spent wash into fields and contaminating ground water. The tribunal also directed Deputy Commissioner Kumar Amit to form a panel to undertake digging in areas where contaminated effluents were dumped by the unit authorities, as claimed by villagers.
The NGT also directed the pollution control board to revoke consent granted to the distillery under the water Act, besides ordering the power utility to snap connection to the unit.
The amount collected as compensation from the unit should be utilised for rejuvenating the environment, it said. An NGT team, also comprising officials of the PPCB, ministries of environment and forest and Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB), had visited the area after receiving complaints from residents of nearby villages. The distillery was found discharging toxic effluents in an area of 50-60 acres.
