People wait for Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal’s arrival at his Sangat Darshan programme at Punjab Bhawan, Chandigarh, on Wednesday.
CHANDIGARH – The owners of over 50 pyrolysis (furnace oil, carbon black, steel wire) units in Punjab, which have been lying closed for almost two years now, have threatened move their business to Haryana alleging that the Punjab Government had failed to make its policy transparent and industry-friendly.
Claiming that they are on the verge of bankruptcy, the owners of these units have demanded an early solution to their problems. In city to participate in the sangat darshan programme of Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, these industrialists said many of them were now being hounded by banks that had advanced them huge loans when these units were up and running.
President of Punjab Pyro Industries Association Satpal Gupta said all pyrolysis units in the state were shut for the past two years. “Our units were sealed as the Pollution Control Board wanted a definite plan for effluent discharged from our units. Over the past two years, we have been shuttling between the offices the Pollution Control Board and the Secretary, Science and Technology. Both have failed to devise a policy and are not allowing us to operate our units,” he rued.
Hakamdin, another unit owner from Khanna, said when the pyrolysis plants started operations in Punjab, the pollution board had issued no guidelines in that regard. Initially, the unit owners were allowed to begin commercial production, but the permission was withdrawn later on. The units are shut since then,” he said
Three committees were formed by the government to look into the issue, but there had been no results, he said. “We are now looking at buying land together in Haryana and set up business there,” he said. The industrialists later met the Deputy Chief Minister at the sangat darshan, who asked the Special Principal Secretary to find a solution to the problem.
Over 200 complainants from all over the state attended the sangat darshan programme. They had to wait for over three hours, as the Deputy Chief Minister was late for the programme. Most of the complaints dealt with the Police Department.
