Bhagwant Mann-Led Punjab Govt Scraps Textile Project Near Forest Amid Protests

Protesters argued that the project would be environmentally destructive for the Mattewara forest and Sutlej river.

Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann.

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter/Bhagwant Mann)

Amid stiff opposition, the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann-led Punjab government on Monday, 11 July, decided to scrap the proposed textile park project near Ludhiana's Mattewara forest.

The decision was taken by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government after a meeting with members of an NGO called Public Action Commitee (PAC), which was leading the protest against the construction of the textile and apparel park, arguing that it would damage the environment given its location.

"The textile park sanctioned by the previous Congress government will not be set up at Mattewara. Our government took this decision after a meeting with PAC today. We are committed to save water on Punjab's soil," CM Mann said in a tweet on Monday.

The chief minister also said that no industries would be set up near the Mattewara forest.

On Sunday, several people, including social activists, farmers, environmentalists and political leaders, had undertaken a protest in Ludhiana against the setting up of the textile park. Protesters stated that the proposed park would lead to environmental degradation of the forest and would also pollute the Sutlej river.

The project was given the green signal by the Congress government, led by Amarinder Singh, in July last year. It was included under the Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel Parks (PM MITRA) scheme.

The central government has said that it aims to build seven such parks across India.

One of the primary demands of the project is that the state government must have encumbrance-free land of 1,000 acres.

The Punjab government had already kept 957.39 acres of land ready for the project, news agency PTI reported.

(With inputs from PTI.)