Yamuna panel pulls up Haryana for not naming erring officials

Bhartesh Singh Thakur

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 29

The NGT-appointed Yamuna Monitoring Committee has flayed the state government for not naming the officials responsible for the delay in setting up new sewage treatment plants (STPs), removing deficiencies in the existing ones and non-payment of environmental compensation.

In its fifth report submitted to the NGT recently, the panel has said that the government has failed to adhere to its orders issued on September 11, 2019. The orders had called for Rs 5 lakh per month (per STP) as compensation to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) if operational deficiency is not fixed within three months.

Regarding the under-construction STPs, the NGT had ordered to deposit Rs 10 lakh per month per incomplete STP after July 1, besides Rs 10 lakh per month for discharging untreated effluent.

“We have collected details from all stakeholders and submitted comments to the Chief Secretary for the final consideration. After that, a reply will be submitted on the report,” said S Narayanan, Member Secretary, Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB).

In its fifth report, where a chapter is dedicated to lapses on the part of Haryana, the committee said of 24 STPs that were randomly checked in Yamunanagar, Panipat, Sonepat, Rohtak, Bahadurgarh, Gurugram, Faridabad and Palwal, 16 were found not complying with the standards.

The report adds, “Officials of the HSPCB are not performing their duty assigned under the Provision of Water Act and the 1974/Environment Protection Act (EPA), 1986.”

Similarly, none of 12 common effluent treatment plants (CETPs) was found complying with the norms.

“The Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) is constructing CETPs without considering the effluent characteristics of units operational in Industrial Estate. This is the only reason behind the poor efficacy of the existing CETPs,” the panel added.

The report said 66 MLD of untreated industrial and domestic effluent is being discharged from the Jagadhri-Yamunanagar township into a ditch drain and neither the MC nor the Public Health Engineering Department is taking responsibility for the same.

In Sonepat, none of four CETPs and three STPs is functioning properly. In Faridabad, there is no functional STP while 210 MLD of untreated domestic effluent is being discharged into the Yamuna. The construction of seven CETPs in Faridabad, Gurugram and Yamunanagar is yet to start.

The next date of hearing by the NGT has been fixed for January 27.

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