NGT demands report from state pollution board

Bijendra Ahlawat

Tribune News Service

Faridabad, February 21

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Haryana Pollution Control Board to submit an inspection report on the illegal dumping of sewage in open by residential societies in Neharpar (Greater Faridabad) here. The order comes in response to a petition filed by a local social activist.

“We want an independent factual report from the Haryana Pollution Control Board to place on record the details of the societies that are running without consent or indulging in an illegal act of discharging sewage in the green belt,” said the order passed by the tribunal on February 15 during the hearing of the petition submitted by Varun Sheokand, an RTI activist. It said the Pollution Control Board would conduct inspection and submit a fresh report even though a report had been filed earlier by the officials concerned. The report would be submitted on the next date of hearing, which has been fixed on March 14.

Charging complacency on part of the officials concerned, including the Pollution Control Board, the petitioner had submitted related documents like pictures of the activity. It is alleged that the officials concerned had been ignoring and overlooking the problem so far, making him approach the NGT.

Though more than 15,000 families had been residing in the region in over 20 societies that have come up in the past few years, none of these had proper sewerage, making the residents discharge the untreated waste in open, it is revealed.

Blaming state government agencies, including HUDA, which had carved out sectors in the area for not providing the sewerage network or connection to the societies till date, Sheokand claimed that the residents had been charged external development charges to the tune of several hundred crore already. He said the dumped sewage had not only polluted the air, but had also contaminated the underground water.