Punjab to facilitate industry on green tech

The government of Punjab is gearing up to combat the increasing pressure on its natural resources as a result of effluents released by the manufacturing industries.

The state has proposed setting up a dedicated cell for ‘carbon trading’ and ‘clean development management’ at the headquarters of PSIEC (Punjab State Industrial Exports Corporation) in Chandigarh to disseminate the information and facilitate the industry to take advantage of green technologies.

Talking to Business Standard on the sidelines of Session on World Standard Day organised by the BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) in Chandigarh recently, the Secretary and Director, Industry, V K Janjua, said that the dedicated centre would help the eligible entrepreneurs cut paper work required to seek the benefits of the schemes run by the international agencies to earn carbon credits.

He said that the industrial clusters of Punjab, particularly the hosiery and yarn clusters at Ludhiana, steel cluster at Mandigobindgarh and leather cluster at Jallandhar and electroplating units at Ludhiana could benefit immensely by upgrading their technology.

The department of industries, according to him, has been trying to convince the owners of the factories to opt for cleaner technology by using gas instaed of coal, switching over to more efficient technology by upgrading and use of lean technology to minimise the wastage.

Janjua apprised that the department had been taking pro-active steps to set up common effluent treatment plants at various industry centre.

He added that they want to replicate the success of the CETP at Jallandhar where a SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) was formed between local industries and the government of Punjab to set up the CETP. The CETP at Jallandhar was a 50-50 joint venture between the local industries and the state government and costed about Rs 18.6 cr.

He told that the state government through its officials at the district levels has been trying to mobilise the SMEs to understand the need and benefits of CETP and support the state agencies in implementing it.