Chandigarh, Feb 25 (IANS): The Punjab and Haryana government have agreed to make Ghaggar river pollution free by the end of the year, a senior Punjab government official said Wednesday.

"With the operationalisation of 25 Sewerage Treatment Plants (STPs) located in 21 towns in the vicinity of Ghaggar, as per deliberations between Mr. Parkash Singh Badal Chief Minister Punjab and Mr. Manohar Lal Khattar Chief Minister Haryana recently, the river will be made pollution free," Punjab chief secretary Sarvesh Kaushal said.

The Punjab government has asked district authorities to speed up work on the STPs.

Kaushal said that covering the STPs was pre-requisite for cleaning Ghaggar river, where sewage and other industrial wastes were being released by various civic authorities.

The river, which originates from Himachal Pradesh, passes through Haryana before entering Punjab.

Most of the pollution in the river happens in Haryana and Punjab.

The Punjab government has also asked the Chandigarh Administration to check the inflow of the pollutants from the Sukhna Choe into river Ghaggar.

The choe (seasonal rivulet) has been termed as the maximum source of pollution in the river, based on a survey carried out by Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB).