Police Register FIR Over Sutlej Pollution
An FIR has been registered at the City Ropar Police Station over the discharge of chemical-based industrial waste into the Sutlej river, following a complaint by Ropar AAP MLA Dinesh Chadha. The complaint alleges that toxic pollutants in the Sirsa river, which flows into the Sutlej, originate from the Baddi-Nalagarh industrial belt in Himachal Pradesh, as reported by both Hindustan Times and The Tribune.
The case has been filed under Sections 270, 271, 279 and 280 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023; Sections 24 and 43 of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974; and Section 7 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. The FIR identifies the suspected accused only in general terms as a person associated with a factory in Baddi/Nalagarh, with no specific name mentioned.
MLA's Complaint and Allegations
Chadha, who visited the Ropar Headworks on Sunday, stated that a substantial quantity of chemical-based waste had accumulated near the headworks. He alleged that some industries take advantage of the monsoon to discharge chemicals, industrial waste, garbage and plastic into rivers and seasonal streams that eventually flow into the Sutlej. He noted that there were no major industrial hubs upstream on the Punjab side, while several industries operate along the Sirsa river and other water channels in and around Baddi in Himachal Pradesh.
According to the FIR, the pollution poses a potential threat to drinking water supplies, aquatic life and public health of Ropar city residents. Chadha said he called the administration and police to the site after noticing the accumulation of industrial material and waste. Police conducted videography at the spot and collected samples as evidence. Rupnagar municipal council president Inderpal Singh Raju Satyal and his team also reached the spot.
The Punjab Pollution Control Board is separately taking action in the matter.
Scientific Studies Document Pollution
The Tribune reported that environmentalist Col (retd) Jasjit Singh Gill has written to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to seek a meeting with Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister regarding pollution entering Punjab through the Sirsa river system from the Baddi industrial area. In his letter, Gill claimed that industrial effluents from pharmaceutical and other industries, including ethanol plants, were being discharged at various points upstream of the Punjab-Himachal Pradesh boundary before the Sirsa enters Punjab near Ghanauli. He urged the Punjab government to direct the Punjab Pollution Control Board to install real-time water pollution monitoring sensors at major entry points, specifically at Ghanauli.
Studies cited by The Tribune show the Sirsa river is critically polluted. A 2024 study by Dixit et al. found pharmaceutical compounds including ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin, cetirizine, and citalopram in the river at levels between 50 to 150 micrograms per litre, significantly above ecological safety parameters. Another study by Bhardwaj, Sharma, and Aggarwal found heavy metals including mercury, chromium, cadmium, lead, and thallium in parts of the river. The research concluded that stretches of the Sirsa downstream of Baddi have crossed several pollution safety benchmarks, indicating continuous industrial discharge.
Significance of the Sutlej
The action assumes significance as the Sutlej is a major source of water for Punjab, and the polluted water eventually flows through canals used in parts of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan, as reported by Hindustan Times.