Pollution board suspends environment engineer for negligence
The Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) on Wednesday suspended an Assistant Environmental Engineer (AEE), Ravinder Yadav, posted in the regional office, Sonepat, for negligence in his duties. During the suspension, his headquarters will be at the HSPCB head office in Panchkula.
As per sources, the government is serious about the pollution in Yamuna and is taking steps to reduce it. In Sonepat, drain No. 6 flows into the Yamuna, but it is polluted. Earlier, on the directions of the NGT, the board had surveyed the drain last year and found it non-compliant. Not only was industrial effluent from the Barhi industrial zone being discharged without treatment, but also untreated sewage was being discharged into the drain near Rathdhana village in Sonepat.
As per information, the MC had set up a sewage treatment plant (STP) of 30 MLD (million litres per day) capacity near Rathdhana, and another STP of 25 MLD capacity on Kakroi road. But sewage discharge from the city is around 86 MLD.
The sources said HSPCB officials collected samples from the STP monthly. The biological oxygen demand (BOD) of the plant was showing less than 10 mg per litre for the last one year, while the BOD of the drain was over 140 mg per litre near the Rathdhana plant, which was more than the permissible limits, and indicates the flow of untreated sewage into the drain.
The HSPCB found that the Sonepat MC was bypassing the sewage in the drain. The MC has installed an underground pipeline, and at the main pumping station (MPS), it has installed a submersible pump and was discharging over 20 MLD sewage into the drain. Though an HSPCB official visited the site several times, he did not pay attention to the sewage bypass.
The sources said the matter was raised before Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini during his visit to Sonepat, and it was also discussed at a meeting held under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary recently.
Taking a serious note of it, the pollution board initiated action and suspended the AEE. Pradeep Dagar, member secretary, HSPCB, said Yadav had been suspended for negligence in his duties as he did not take samples properly of the STP at Rathdhana, and did not report the matter to the headquarters.
