Fortis hospital under lens for effluent discharge violations
NOIDA: The Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) issued a show cause notice to Fortis Hospital in Noida Sector 62 on Wednesday after it found that the hospital’s effluent treatment plant (ETF) had not been functioning for months, an official said on Thursday.
According to the pollution board’s regional office, the notice was issued from its headquarters in Lucknow following the several inspections. They said it sought reasons and clarifications from the hospital as to why the problem was not rectified. If the response is not satisfactory, the board may impose a penalty on it, they added.
“We had inspected the hospital after receiving a complaint that it had been discharging untreated effluents. The first inspection was in May, followed by two more inspections in July, in which sewage samples were collected and found to be noncompliant with norms. The last
inspection was conducted in mid-august, and the samples are yet to be assessed. Based on our findings, the report was sent to the Lucknow head office, and a show cause notice was sent to them. Further inspections will be done, and environment compensation will be imposed following the reply,” said Praveen Kumar, regional officer, UPPCB, Noida.
Kumar added that actions will be taken under the provisions of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, and on the directions of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). According
to the NGT guidelines, penalty on non-functioning effluent treatment plants may vary from ₹5,000 to ₹25,000 per day, depending on the degree of severity of effluents, said the officials.
Fortis Hospital said in a statement, “We are in receipt of the notice and are in process of submitting our response.”
The board sent notices to three three-star hotels in Noida for not complying with sewage disposal norms.
“During a random inspection, we found that the three hotels in sectors 55, 27 and 18 were not treating wastewater. We have served notices to them as well,” said Kumar.
Water pollution is one of the major pollution issues in Noida as effluents or untreated sewages make it to the floodwater drains and finally reach the Yamuna or Hindon (that meets Yamuna), leading to a further rise in river pollution. Both Yamuna and Hindon have no dissolved oxygen levels as of July 2021, against a minimum requirement of 5mg/l.