Maloya STP upgrade completed, big respite for local residents

Chandigarh, April 20

In a respite to local residents, the upgrade of the sewage treatment plant (STP) at Maloya has been completed.

According to information, seven other plants are also undergoing upgrade. Work on two of the plants is expected to be completed by July 2022 while two others are schdeuled tp get upgraded by December 2022. The remaining

three will be upgraded by March 2023.

A panel formed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and headed by Justice Pritam Pal, former Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, had last year directed the Municipal Corporation to upgrade its STPs or face penalty. Following his directions, the MC sped up the upgrade work.

The effluent discharge from four STPs into the Ghaggar tributaries has much higher biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) level than the latest permissible level of 10mg/litre. A low BOD is an indicator of good quality water, while a high BOD indicates polluted water.

The higher BOD level also affects the quality of treated water the civic body is releasing from these STPs for the irrigation of public and private parks. Thus, the treated water stinks.