NGT PANEL TO CHECK DRAINS JOINING RIVERS

The National Green Tribunal on Saturday has formed a committee and is directed to inspect all the drains joining the Ganga and Yamuna rivers and all the Sewage Treatment Plants from which discharge is being made to the rivers in the Prayagraj district. On February 7, 2023, the direction came, during the hearing of the petition, which raised a grievance in respect of the discharge of sewage into Rivers Ganga and Yamuna in reference to the availability of clean water at the time of the Kumbh Mela, which is to be organized in the year 2024-2025. According to the status report filed by the National Mission for

Clean Ganga, estimated sewage generation is 500 mld against which sewage treatment plants are set up to treat 340 mld and this capacity is under expansion to have a facility for 533 mld. As per Pryagraj Mela Pradhikaran, the Tribunal noted that 37 drains carrying sewage are tapped and diverted to 10 STPS and treated sewage as per compliance with notified standards by the Ministry of Environment and Foreign are discharged into River Ganga & Yamuna.

Further, for 41 drains, interception and diversion to STPS are yet to be achieved and this indicates that at least 67.82 mld of treated sewage is flowing through the Rivers Ganga and Yamuna, as further noted by the Tribunal. Noted the submissions from the status report of respondents authorities, the bench headed by Justice Prakash Shrivastava stated, “to ascertain the correct position, we need to have the report relating to total generation of sewage, existing installed STPS and their current level of utilization and functioning, and the performance of STPS from which treated water is discharged in River Ganga and Yamuna at Paryagraj.”

The Tribunal stated, that hence, we form a committee comprising the Representative of Member Secretary (CPCB), RO MOEF&CC (Lucknow), District Magistrate (Paryagraj), RO UPPCB (Prayagraj), Chief Engineer, UP Jal Nigam.

The bench directed that “The committee is directed to inspect all the drains joining River Ganga and Yamuna and all the STPS from which discharge is being made to River Ganga and Yamuna in District Paryagraj.”

The said committee will carry out spot inspections, collect samples of discharged treated water with sample analysis done, and also collect information in respect of the functioning of the STPS and submit the report before the Tribunal.

The District Magistrate, Prayagraj, will act as the nodal agency. The bench added that the committee will also ascertain the position of the total per-day generation of sewage in Prayagraj, the treatment capacity of STPS, and the existing gap and action taken to eliminate that gap.