4 Rewari STPs told to pay Rs 1.90 crore compensation

Ravinder Saini

Rewari, August 21

The Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) has imposed a total environmental compensation of Rs 1.90 crore upon four sewage treatment plants (STPs) on finding their samples exceeding the permissible limit of various environment parameters.

Belong to HSVP, PHED

• Three of the STPs are being operated by the Public Health and Engineering Department (PHED), while the fourth belongs to the Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP)

Sources said samples of the STPs were taken by a joint committee of district officials in April in connection with a case filed by Prakash Yadav, a local resident, before the National Green Tribunal (NGT) against the STPs last year.

In his complaint, Yadav claimed that the STPs were releasing sewage in hundreds of acres of the vacant land of dried-up Sahabi river near Kharkhara and Khaliawas villages on the Delhi-Jaipur National Highway. The sewage not only leads to the contamination of the groundwater but also damages trees and other vegetation, he added.

Acting on the complaint, the NGT sought an action taken report from the district authorities, who later constituted a joint committee, led by Additional Deputy Commissioner, Rewari, to verify the factual position. Officials of the HSPCB, PHED, Irrigation Department and Rewari MC were other members of the committee, Yadav added.

“Environmental compensation of Rs 65.10 lakh has been slapped on the STP located in Kharkhara village, Rs 56.20 lakh on the STP in Kaluwas village, Rs 55.70 lakh on the STP at Nasiaji Road and Rs 13.50 lakh on the STP in Dharuhera town here for violations of environmental norms,” said Harish Sharma, Regional Officer, HSPCB, in Dharuhera town. Sharma maintained that the PHED and the HSVP had been told to deposit the compensation at the earliest.