Sewage cleaning, solid waste management need attention: Sidhu

Mohali: Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu on Monday said the state government has listed cleaning of sewages, setting up solid waste management plants and planting saplings as the core sectors which deserve attention.

Ultra-modern machines will be purchased that can uproot trees, whose roots go 20 feet deep, and transplant them at other places, he said after launching a tree plantation drive on the occasion of World Environment Day.

Sidhu said the state government is also contemplating taking loan from the World Bank for harnessing canal water to meet people's requirement.

The state local government minister said his department will issue user certificate to people constructing houses in more than 200 square yards only when they make adequate arrangements for ground water harvesting.

He lashed out at the previous SAD-BJP government saying that out of 64 sewage treatment plants in Punjab, only three were operational.

Sidhu said a high-capacity sewage treatment plant will be set up in Mohali for robust water management and irrigation.

Now is the high time to preserve the water level of Punjab otherwise it will turn barren, he said, adding more than one lakh saplings will be planted across the state.