The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has asked authorities in Himachal Pradesh and Haryana to respond to allegations that waste from the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh (BBN) industrial belt is polluting the Sirsa river and, further downstream, the Sutlej near Ropar in Punjab. The matter came up before the Principal Bench on 9 September and is listed for further hearing on 2 December. The case puts a basic question to the test: who pays when the cost of industrial growth travels with the water?
What the case alleges
The proceedings began with an application by Dinesh Chadha, the Aam Aadmi Party MLA from Ropar. He alleges that untreated or partly treated industrial effluent reaches the Sirsa through drains and tributaries, and that sewage and solid waste also enter natural streams. He further says the Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) in Baddi lacks the capacity to handle the load. The tribunal observed that the matter raises a substantial issue of compliance with environmental norms. These are allegations, and the respondents have yet to reply.
The numbers cited in the complaint are stark. According to Mr Chadha’s letter, about 2,200 industries operate in the Baddi area, about 1,000 of them generate liquid waste, and wastewater from only about 377 units reportedly reaches the CETP. In plain terms, most liquid-waste producers are not sending their effluent for common treatment. Industry counts differ by source: the State Pollution Control Board told the Vidhan Sabha that 87 of 2,919 BBN units were found violating norms between 2019 and 2024. Those units were fined Rs 3.2 crore in total.
What the monitoring shows
Punjab Pollution Control Board data for August, reported by The Tribune, put coliform bacteria in the Sirsa at 260 times the bathing limit, and linked the river’s pollution to industrial activity around BBN. Earlier studies have also detected pharmaceutical compounds and heavy metals near the Baddi belt. A separate study of groundwater across BBN found total dissolved solids within the permissible limit for drinking, though its authors still called for stricter compliance and continuous monitoring.
What this means for India
Rivers do not stop at state borders, but pollution-control boards do. The Sirsa starts in an industrial belt in Himachal Pradesh and ends in the Sutlej in Punjab, so regulators in two states, and Haryana, are now involved. According to Mr Chadha’s complaint, only a fraction of liquid-waste units use the CETP. The outcome may show how India handles pollution that crosses state lines, and whether upstream industry bears the cost of cleaning up.
Pressure from both sides of the border
Concern is not limited to Punjab. Residents and environmental groups protested at Nalagarh recently, saying industrial pollution was affecting human and animal health, groundwater and air quality. The NGT has also issued a show-cause notice to the state board and formed a joint committee headed by the Solan Deputy Commissioner, which must submit a report. Residents of Majra panchayat, on the Punjab border, have asked for a comprehensive environmental audit.
Regulators have also acted. The State Pollution Control Board has disconnected power to 27 industrial units, including four stone crushers in Nalagarh. The Punjab board has sought a joint investigation with pollution-control authorities in Himachal Pradesh and Haryana.
What happens next
The respondents must now file their responses before the December hearing. The tribunal’s questions are likely to centre on how much effluent the CETP can treat, how many units discharge outside it, and what the monitoring data shows along the river. For Punjab’s riverside communities and for BBN’s residents, the answers will decide whether the cost of industrial growth is shared fairly.
Sources
- NGT takes up alleged Sirsa river pollution, downstream impact on Sutlej at Ropar, issues notice to Himachal – The Tribune
- Sirsa river pollution linked to untreated industrial waste, sewage from Baddi: AAP MLA – Himtimes
- Sirsa river pollution remains alarmingly high, PPCB data shows coliform 260 times above bathing limit – The Tribune
- Polluting industries in Baddi Barotiwala Nalagarh industrial area face Rs 3.2 crore penalty – The Tribune
- Industries causing pollution, leading to diseases; Nalagarh residents hold protest – The Tribune
- BBN Pollution Under Fire: Villagers Demand Environmental Audit & Stricter Action – Himachal Headlines
- Groundwater quality and health risk assessment in the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh industrial belt of the northwestern Himalayas – PMC
