Chandigarh, April 30 — The Punjab and Haryana High Court has sought a response from the Punjab government on a petition filed by Adampur MLA Sukhwinder Singh, opposing the construction of a Bio-CNG plant on the premises of the Bhogpur Cooperative Sugar Mills Limited in Jalandhar district.
A Division Bench led by Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sumeet Goel issued the notice during a hearing on the plea, in which Singh urged the court to intervene on behalf of Bhogpur village residents.
The petition raises concerns over potential health hazards and environmental degradation linked to the proposed plant.
“The project site is barely 100 metres from the residential area, where many economically weaker residents, including daily wagers and small vendors, live,” said counsel Nikhil Ghai, representing the MLA.
“The situation is already dire due to pollution from the sugar mill, and this plant would add further burden, creating unhygienic and hazardous living conditions.”
The petition argues that residents are already grappling with pollution-related distress caused by the existing industrial activity. Singh warned that the establishment of a Bio-CNG facility in such close proximity to a densely inhabited locality could deepen the crisis.
Ghai further submitted that authorities had failed to address or even acknowledge community concerns, particularly regarding long-term health implications and environmental risks.
“The voices of the villagers have gone unheard despite repeated appeals,” he told the Bench.
The court has scheduled the next hearing for May 26.
