Faridabad STPs not fully utilised, source of pollution
Faridabad, May 4
The 45 million litres per day (MLD) capacity sewage treatment plant (STP) located in Badshahpur village within the civic limits has become a source of pollution due to its inability to treat sewage as per the required standards.
“The STP was constructed about 23 years ago under the Yamuna Action Plan at a cost of several crores, but has been lying non-functional for several years,” said Naresh, a local resident. Untreated waste is being discharged into an open drain, leading to unhygienic conditions in the vicinity and the contamination of air and underground water, resulting in acute polluting conditions, he added.
A new STP has been set up adjacent to the old one, but it is also working at half capacity of 15 MLD. “The main passage, leading to the new STP, remains waterlogged round-the-clock,” said a resident.
Complaints of pollution have been lodged with the National Mission for Clean Ganga portal by residents, and the MC imposed a penalty of Rs 90 lakh on the contractor in August 2020 for failure to ensure proper upkeep of the STP.
Residents claim that the present 15 MLD treatment capacity is negligible compared to the required capacity of around 500 MLD.
However, according to the MC officials, besides the operational 30 MLD STP in Badshahpur, two more STPs in Mirzapur and Pratapgarh villages, with the upgraded capacity of 80 MLD and 100 MLD, respectively, are likely to come up later this year.
