Punjab govt scraps proposed textile park plan near Ludhiana’s Mattewara forest

Category: General

Country: India

Chief minister Bhagwant Mann announced the decision during a meeting in Chandigarh with seven-member PAC team against setting up the mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel Park along the Sutlej river

Updated on Jul 11, 2022 05:24 PM IST

Faced with stiff opposition, Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday scrapped the proposed textile park project at Koom Kalan village near the Mattewara forest in Ludhiana district.

Mann announced the decision during a meeting in Chandigarh with a seven-member delegation of the Public Action Committee (PAC), the NGO spearheading the agitation against the mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel Park along the Sutlej river.

“The Bhagwant Mann government has taken the decision that the Mattewara project will be cancelled,” the ruling Aam Aadmi Party tweeted from its official handle.

“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,” science, technology and environment minister Gurpreet Singh Meet Hayer tweeted soon after.

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Taking on former chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh for the row over the textile park near Mattewara forest, Mann said: “If the need arises, land will be allotted for the park at another place, but it will not be set up near the Mattewara forest.”

“I have not shunned the claim over Chandigarh being the capital of Punjab solely. I have stated that if Haryana is granted land for a separate assembly why not Punjab?” he said on the backlash he facing over his tweet regarding Chandigarh.

Mann said, “It was Sukhbir Singh Badal, who shifted many Punjab offices to Mohali during the Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP regime. It was during this regime that New Chandigarh was established.”

‘Will endanger existence of forest, pollute Sutlej’
On Sunday, protesters, including politicians, social activists, farmer leaders, trade unionists and environmentalists, held a demonstration outside a gurdwara along the Sutlej in the Mattewara area to oppose the government’s move.

The previous Congress government under chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh had mooted the project in July 2020 and 956.99 acres had been acquired from nearby villages. Though the site where the textile park was set to come up does not fall in forest area, it is sandwiched between two chunks of protected area.

The PAC had invited residents at the project site of the textile park on Sunday to draw their attention towards the possible impact of the industry on the environment. The industrial park will not only endanger the existence of the forest but would also pollute the Sutlej, according to PAC member Jaskirat Singh.

Sangrur MP Simranjit Singh Mann said that he would not let the government set up a textile park along the Sutlej and would raise the issue in Parliament. “The government has spent crores but failed to clean the Buddha Nullah, which further pollutes the water in the Sutlej. Malwa has become a cancer belt just because of effluents discharged from industries in Ludhiana,” said Mann.

Farmer leader Balbir Singh Rajewal said that the Punjab government is being operated from Delhi through remote control. He said that the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) will not let any industrial activity in the eco-sensitive zone.

Will not create job opportunities: Khaira
Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira said the industrial park will not lead to any job creation for the local residents and the area will become yet another colony of cheap migrant labour as it was witnessed during the previous industrial project where migrant labour from other states were preferred over local youth. This is also leading to demographic shift in the industrial city, he said.

Former diplomat KC Singh targeted environmentalist and Rajya Sabha member Balbir Singh Seechewal, who initiated the movement to mobilise the opposition against the settings of industrial park, for being silent on the issue.

Cong’s Raja Warring regrets Capt Amarinder’s approval
Former India hockey captain and Congress MLA Pargat Singh said: “In June 2020, the gram sabha of Sekhowal village had passed a resolution opposing the park in the presence of AAP MLA (Jagraon) Sarvjit Kaur Manuke. The legislator had also extended support to the villagers and had promised to shelve the project if the party was voted to power. The videos of each one of them are available in public domain.”

Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring expressed regret that former Congress leader and chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh had approved the project. He said the Congress will fight and will not let the setting up of any polluting industries in eco-sensitive zone.

Former minister Maheshinder Singh Grewal and SAD leader Ranjit Singh Dhillon said the party had decided to extend its support to the protest and appealed to environmentalists to unite to thwart the AAP government’s decision to choke the “green lungs” of Ludhiana.

With inputs by Mohit Khanna in Ludhiana

Courtesy: https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/chandigarh-news/punjab-govt-scraps-proposed-textile-park-plan-near-ludhiana-s-mattewara-forest-101657530109461.html