Punjab Govt propoal for Industrial park near Mattewara Forest faces opposition

July 24, 2020

New Delhi: The proposed Industrial park of 1000 acre near Mattewara Forest in Ludhiana raised an alarm bell among environmentalists, activists and villagers concerned.

In early July, the Punjab cabinet approved the setting up of a state of the art industrial park and integrated manufacturing cluster over 2000 acres on government and panchayat land near Mattewara forest in Ludhiana and Rajpura in Patiala district respectively, on a total cost of Rs. 3200 crores.

While announcing the project, the Government said it would be instrumental in accelerating the pace of industrialization and creating new job opportunity in the state.

However, resentment started brewing against the move, and soon Social media was flooded with slogans like #save_Mattewara_save_Sutlej, #save Mattewara_save_Punjab and #save_Mattewara Forest, with genuine fear that use of nearby land for industrial purpose will destroy the ecosystem of this forest, which has a variety of wildlife and rare flora and fauna.

Environmentalists like Padam Shri awardee Balbir Singh Seechewal, NGOs like Eco Sikhs, Naroa Punjab Manch, Satth Punjab University, RTI activists, even a section of Industrialists and politicians have shown their concern and requested Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh to reconsider the move.

However, the state government has clarified that it will not use any forestland. Even, Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh during his interaction, #Ask Captain on Facebook made it clear that not an inch of the forest land will be taken and not a single tree will be uprooted for the development of industrial park at Mattewara in Ludhiana. He added that government has taken 955 acres land of animal husbandry, horticulture department and gram panchayats of villages Sekhowal, Salempur and Sail Kalan for Mattewara industrial park.

Instead, the fact is, as Jujhar Singh of Satth Punjab University clarified that the land acquired by the government for the park is very close to the Mattewara forest, and therefore, pose a potential threat to the ecosystem of the forest.

Mattewara forest is one of the oldest vast spread forest area in approximately 3200 acres in the plain of Punjab. The SAD-BJP government in 2014 declared it as a ‘reserve forest’ and proposed to develop it as ‘wildlife nature reserve’. To attract tourism and to create awareness about nature, science and environment, the forest department has developed a botanical garden, butterfly garden and a lake here, and constructed 8-kilometers long nature trail.

The location of the forest is on the bank of river Sutlej; hence, it is natural habitat for the diversified animals and plants including varieties of birds and animals such as peacock, antelopes, deer and somber and other old varieties of flora and fauna. Abundance of Chandan, Sheesham and Bamboo tree is its specificity. In the polluted industrial hub Ludhiana city, this forest is an oxygen bank and rightly called as ‘Lungs of Ludhiana’, and Gunaa di gutthi (bunch of qualities).

Therefore, the proposal of Punjab government to establish industrial park near its vicinity has created a fear that the exustence of the park will be endangered.That is why, a huge resentment is brewing among the social activists, environmentalists, even among a section of industrialists and politicians.

Industrialist Ranjodh Singh, Managing Director GST group has written a letter to the Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, requesting him not to set up the industrial park there. He wrote, “(It) will ruin the ecological balance of this habitat. Many trees will by uprooted, land grabbers will destroy the nature and rapid urbanization will ruin the precious natural resources”

Kultar Singh Sandhawan, AAP MLA from Kotkapura has also written a letter to the Chief Minister. Naroa Punjab Manch, Faridkot based NGO have written to the chairman National Green Tribunal (NGT) and to the Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana opposing the state government’s move.

Social activist and environmentalist Kuldeep Khaira has started a campaign against the move. “We are totally against setting up of industrial park at the cost of Mattewara forest,” he said.

Ravneet Singh, project manager South Asia of Eco-Sikh NGO found the government’s move “very disturbing” and appealed to the CM Amarinder Singh to reconsider it.

A P S Mann, retired professor of Punjab Agriculture University lamented, “Already the water bodies of Ludhiana, Sutlej and Budha Nullah have been destroyed and now this last remaining forest too is at the verge of destruction”.

The critics of the project say that the Punjab government instead of going for new infrastructure
with a cost of 1600 crore, should upgrade facilities in already established infrastructure. Ludhiana Industrialists and the representatives of the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) have already raised the issue of collapse of facilities and infrastructure.

The Government has no money to pay subsidies to the industrialists. Finance Minister, Manpreet Singh Badal admitted in his Budget speech in February 2020 that industrial subsidies of 1978, 1987, 1992 and 2003 are still pending.

The government has failed to develop long pending 350-acre Dhanansu focal point project of Rs 500 Crore. Problems of roads, streetlights, sewerage is common and posing the worst scenario of existing infrastructure. Situation is not different today, what Ludhiana administration reported to Chief Minister Amarinder Singh in 2017. It accepted the dilapidated condition of focal points and industrial areas of Ludhiana. It highlighted the non-availability of waste compacters; tendency of industries to litter in nearby vacant plots causing a serious toll on solid waste management. It underlined the absence of sewerage lines for 25-kilometers Tajpur road to provide water to the Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) near central jail. Solid waste management was “Very poor”. None of the 184 roads of Ludhiana focal points area were in good condition. They were full of potholes and bad patches. Parks in the area had “literally turned in to a cesspool by garbage, litter and waste water thrown in by the industries”.

This is the reason; a section of industrialists is of the view that government should first upgrade existing industrial areas, which are poor in condition.

Rajeev Jain, President of Laghu Udyog Bharti, an industrial organization said, “The existing Focal points and industrial areas are in bad shape. Rather than improving the existing infrastructure, the government is creating more industrial parks. The government will not be able to attract new industry until it upgrade existing infrastructure”.

“With such a track record and the ground situation, how government can ensure that the proposed industrial park will be free of problems and pollution,” asked Raminder Singh, retired Chief Port Manager of Dry Port Punjab State Warehousing Corporation, Dhandari Kalan, Ludhiana.

The Punjab government is making promises that in new Industrial Park they will build only pollution free units, offices, recreation activities, staff quarters and hotels in front of the river. Six-lane high-rise road along the Sutlej River adjoining Mattewara Industrial Park would be constructed as a dam against floods to ensure that no contaminants were dumped into river by anyone.

“Leave the industries aside, these constructions and vehicular traffic itself will change the ecosystem of the area,” said Raminder Singh.

Still, government is maintaing that these activities will not affect adjoining river and jungle. State Industries Minister Sunder Sham Arora assured that the park wouldn’t harm the ecological balance, Ignoring the fact that industries whether inside the Jungle or juxtaposed to it, were bound to affect the air, water, soil and habitat of the surroundings.

Most of those opposing the project say the best option is to change the site. Professor A P S Mann has rightly said “Why only Mattewara is being targeted when we have availability of land for industrial area in other areas of the city as well”.

Raminder Singh has requested Punjab government to realize the gravity and its consequences. Setting up industrial park near the forest means giving slow poison to the nature reserve. Better, take the to somewhere else”.