The fight against Ludhiana's severe air pollution has reached a new level as a local advocacy group has taken its grievances directly to the state's highest administrative officer. The Public Action Committee (PAC), frustrated by what it calls systemic inaction, has lodged a formal complaint with the Punjab Chief Secretary regarding the persistent and illegal dumping and burning of garbage across the city.
Chronic Inaction Sparks Formal Escalation
The PAC's move comes after what it describes as a consistent failure by local authorities to address repeated complaints. The group alleges that this negligence has led to gross violations of key environmental laws, creating a direct threat to public health in Ludhiana. A prominent member of the committee, Kapil Arora, pinpointed a specific illegal dump site near the Bank of India on Old GT Road as a glaring example. He highlighted that garbage at this location is frequently set on fire, releasing toxic fumes into the air.
Arora detailed the group's futile efforts, stating that despite submitting multiple written complaints to both the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) chief engineer and the Ludhiana Municipal Commissioner, no corrective action has been taken. The site remains uncleared, and no punitive measures have been initiated against the offenders. The PAC asserts that this inaction itself constitutes a serious offence under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981. Furthermore, they argue it blatantly violates directives from the Supreme Court, the National Green Tribunal (NGT), and the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016.
Allegations of Shielding and Widespread Practice
Another PAC member, Dr. Amandeep Bains, leveled serious accusations against the pollution control board. He alleged that the burning of refuse at illegal dumps by private individuals has become a "routine and widespread practice" in Ludhiana. Dr. Bains specifically accused the PPCB of "consistently shielding" both the Municipal Corporation and the erring private parties from facing legal consequences.
"It is a matter of record that they raised this issue before NGT, and the tribunal has already issued specific directions to PPCB to assess and impose environmental compensation on the MC for 27 locations involving illegal dumping and burning of garbage," Dr. Bains noted, underscoring the existing legal mandate that is being ignored.
Demands for Accountability and Independent Inspection
The activists argue that the failure of concerned officials to act on formal complaints has only emboldened polluters. This, they claim, has resulted in continued environmental degradation and a steady worsening of Ludhiana's air quality. In their complaint to the Chief Secretary, the PAC has put forth two primary demands for immediate action from the state government.
First, they have called for an independent inspection of all illegal garbage dump sites across Ludhiana to assess the full scale of the problem. Second, they have demanded strict disciplinary action against the officials whose negligence has allowed uncontrolled air pollution from frequent garbage dumping and burning to persist. The group's formal escalation signals a deepening crisis of governance and environmental enforcement in one of Punjab's major industrial hubs.
