Toxic tide: Rajasthan puts Punjab on notice over Sutlej pollution

The Sutlej, a lifeline for Rajasthan and Punjab, has become a battleground, with the former accusing the latter of polluting the river and triggering an interstate dispute. As pollution-linked cancer cases rise alarmingly, the crisis demands urgent intervention and accountability.  A report by Aayush Goel

Sutlej, the river that unites Rajasthan and Punjab has triggered a fresh interstate dispute with the former accusing Punjab of polluting the same. Highlighting pollution of the river water, which is the lifeline of many districts in both states, Rajasthan has asked Punjab to stop the flow of polluted and hazardous water into the Sutlej. In a letter to his Punjab counterpart Gulab Chand Kataria, Rajasthan Governor Haribhau Bagde sought his immediate intervention and preventive action.
In the letter, Bagde has told Kataria about highly polluted chemical-laden poisonous water flowing from Punjab to Rajasthan via the Sutlej, where it was supplied for drinking and irrigation purposes in at least 12 districts, including Sri Ganganagar, Bikaner and Jodhpur.
“The water polluted by effluents from heavy industries in Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Phagwara and other cities and laced with chemicals and heavy metal poisonous substances is causing cancer and other incurable diseases to the people in Rajasthan, who are using it for potable purposes,” Bagde has said. He has also forwarded to Kataria a memorandum submitted to him by the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) Sri Ganganagar unit and requested that he direct the departments concerned to take appropriate action.  Acting on the same, Governor Gulab Chand Kataria has sought a report from Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on the widespread pollution in the Sutlej. Kataria also reviewed the ongoing work and future plans to clean and preserve the highly polluted Sutlej tributary Buddha Nullah.
Kataria who himself hails from Rajasthan (former Rajasthan Home minister) took the issue on top priority and has written to Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann highlighting the discharge of chemicals from industrial units in Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Phagwara and other cities into Buddha Nullah, which flows into the Sutlej. Kataria has urged the CM to send him a report regarding the gravity of the issue, measures taken so far to address the same and the future plan of action in that regard.
Buddha Nullah, a natural water stream originating from Koom Kalan in Ludhiana, is the main source of pollution in the Sutlej. Of its total 47.55-km length, a 14-km stretch passes through Ludhiana city and after that, it merges into the Sutlej at Walipur Kalan village in Ludhiana before entering Rajasthan. Industrial and dairy effluents, domestic sewage and solid waste pollute its water. The Sutlej originates in Himachal Pradesh and flows into Punjab near Nangal town, passing through Ropar, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, and Kapurthala districts before converging with the Beas at Harike and entering Pakistani territory.
 Concern over rising cancer cases
 “It’s been thirty years people, especially farmers and dependent families, are dying of cancer in at least 12 districts. We know what’s the cause but nobody is ready to act. Promises have been made but no action has been taken to stop the supply of highly polluted and poisonous water from Punjab to Rajasthan through the Sutlej. Not just our state but even people in Punjab districts are dying of cancer because of Sutlej pollution by industries but we are yet to see any concrete action by any government,” says Gurbal Pal Singh Sandhu, SKM chief, Ganganagar.  The concern resonates with Punjab environmentalists and even leaders. More than 1,000 farmers from Rajasthan have launched protests and even marched to Punjab in December 2024 threatening to completely block Buddha Nullah under ‘Zeher se mukti andolan’ (freedom from poisonous water movement). Though momentary announcements were made, no action was taken. Punjab farmers and activists on their part are already running campaigns and protests like ‘Kale Pani Da Morcha’ (protest against water pollution), which includes affected people from areas along the Sutlej.
“People have been dying for decades. The cause is right in front of their eyes but who cares? We have given representations, scientific studies have been conducted, and plans have been made but Buddha Nullah and Sutlej river remains the same and are killing people in both states. Punjab needs to act tough against the industrialists illegally discharging the affluent and work on alternate industrial waste management plans,” said environmentalist Kapil Arora and member of Kale Pani da Morcha. He further blamed it on lack of dedicated autonomous authority. He adds, “The government washes its hands off by issuing directions and departments fail to act and blame each other. We need single authority to act and be accountable.”
The issue, according to the Punjab Governor, has been taken up by the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti which has sought multi-sectoral and multi-departmental action by the Punjab Government. Meanwhile, the Governor chaired a high-level meeting attended by the heads of various in-line departments, including Local Government, Water Resources, Environment and Climate Change, Irrigation, Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) and the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation. Not much impressed with the ongoing works, the Governor directed the heads of the in-line departments to launch a coordinated and sustained campaign to free Buddha Nullah and the Sutlej of the rampant pollution.
 The dying Sutlej
 ‘Kaala Paani’ ‘Dariaaye Maut’ is how Buddha Nullah and Sutlej are known in Punjab. The uproar against pollution and resultant diseases, especially cancer, is not new. It has been going on for at least three decades but to no effect. The first project –Action Plan for Clean River Sutlej – was launched in 1996; three sewage treatment plants (STPs) were set up at Jamalpur, Bhattian and Balloke villages but nothing much has changed ever since. In 2020, the Punjab government set up an Rs.650 crore two-year rejuvenation project for the Buddha Nullah. CM Mann, while blaming the previous government, inaugurated the state’s largest STP at Jamalpur and other projects worth Rs 315 crore for the rejuvenation of Buddha Nullah. However, a 2024 study by Punjab-based environmental researchers exposed the failure of all projects. The dedicated study of Sutlej water revealed pollution impact on water quality and aquatic life and stark contrasts in water chemistry between upstream and downstream sites, painting a worrying picture of the river’s health.
While upstream areas remain relatively unpolluted, downstream sites are plagued by moderate to severe pollution. The study, “Spatiotemporal Distribution of Cyanobacteria in Relation to Water Chemistry of Sutlej River, Punjab (India),” conducted by Gurdarshan Singh Rangra, Yadvinder Singh, Komal Thapa and Jasvir Inder Singh Khattar and Davinder Pal Singh has been published in the International Journal “Environmental Monitoring and Assessment”.
The River Pollution Index (RPI) of various sampling sites along the Sutlej river revealed significant variations in water quality. Sites with minimal human impact, like Nangal, boasted an RPI of 1.5, indicating unpolluted conditions. Conversely, areas like Jol village exhibited moderate pollution, with RPI values ranging from 3.3 in summer and winter to 4 during monsoons, primarily due to sewage waste from Nangal City and the National Fertilizer Limited. Miani village and Katli, Ropar, recorded RPI values of 2.3 and 2.8, respectively, categorizing them as negligibly polluted. Saidpur, Ropar, with an RPI of 3.3, faced contamination from agricultural runoff and Ropar City sewage. In stark contrast, Chuharwal, Ludhiana, and Talwandi Kalan exhibited alarming RPI increases, denoting severe pollution. Notably, Chuharwal marks the confluence of Buddha Nullah with the Sutlej river, while Talwandi Kalan lies downstream. The substantial pollution spike at these sites underscores Buddha Nullah’s significant contribution to pollutant levels. In a response, on August 13, 2024, the CPCB replied to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on the pollution status in Buddha Nullah. It mentioned that three Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs) in the city have been found “not complying with the disposal condition stipulated in the environmental clearance issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
CPCB further informed NGT that it issued directions to PPCB on August 12, 2024 to take appropriate action including imposing environmental compensation. The PPCB in turn has admitted in an earlier report that the water from the Buddha Nullah is unfit for irrigation.