Soil, not fly ash, being used to build roads in Malwa

Tribune News Service

Mansa, March 26

In order to construct roads, including the national highways in Malwa, fertile soil is reportedly being used instead of fly ash.

MLAexpresses concern, writes to CM

Sardulgarh AAP MLA Gurpreet Singh Banawali has written to the Chief Minister and urged him to restrict the NHAI from using the fertile soil for the road work

Despite the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change directing the government and private entities to use fly ash for the road works to preserve soil health, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has been using fertile soil.

In Mansa district, the soil was being used on a large scale to construct the national highway and flyovers from Bhikhi to Delhi.

In Punjab, Talwandi Sabo Power Limited, Banawala; Guru Hargobind Thermal Plant, Lehra Mohabbat; L&T Thermal Plant, Rajpura; Guru Gobind Singh Super Thermal Power Plant, Ropar; GVK Power, Goindwal and Guru Gobind Singh Refinery, Ram Mandi use hundreds of tonnes of coal daily, which results in production of large quantity of fly ash.

Though some cement manufacturing units use fly ash, the instructions for using it for constructing the roads and flyovers had been hardly followed.

Sardulgarh AAP MLA Gurpreet Singh Banawali has written to the Chief Minister in this regard and urged him to restrict the NHAI from using the fertile soil for the road works.

Former Chief Agriculture Officer Amarjit Sharma termed it “dangerous” and said it would impact the crop yield.

Sarpanch Iqbal Singh Sidhu of Fafde Bhaike village said, “On the one hand, action is taken against a farmer, if he digs soil from his field, and on the other, private firms illegally use soil for constructing the roads.”

An official of the Punjab Pollution Control Board said they had sought information from the NHAI in this regard.

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