How to check discharge of effluents into Hindon? GMC hands list to NGT

Ghaziabad: The Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation has submitted a fresh report on the short- and long-term measures it plans to take to check the discharge of effluents into the Hindon.In Dec last year, the civic corporation submitted a 485-page report to the tribunal stating that 55 drains in seven districts flow into the river, carrying with them 944 million litres per day (MLD) of sewage. Of this, 713 MLD were treated by 16 sewage treatment plants (STPs) but 231 MLD of untreated sewage still was discharged into the river.The NGT subsequently asked the civic body to file a compliance report.“We submitted a report on effluent discharge through drains in the Hindon. We have also listed short-term and long-term measures, including setting up STPs to contain the discharge of effluent in the report submitted to the NGT,” a GMC official said. The details of the steps to be taken was not available immediately.The NGT in March 2023 ordered the prosecution of industries found releasing pollutants into the river. In Dec 2023, the tribunal also directed that criminal proceedings be initiated against municipal or urban local body officials of the seven districts —Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar, Shamli, Meerut, Baghpat, Ghaziabad and Gautam Budh Nagar — through which the river passes.“The NGT, in its order, blamed local bodies for discharging sewage through drains into the river and said no effective steps for the prevention of discharge of polluted effluents and sewage into the river have been taken. However, industries continue to release effluents into the river and no effective steps have been taken against them yet,” petitioner Abhisht Gupta said. The GMC’s 2023 report said there are 357 industries along the banks of the Hindon, of which 33 non-conforming and polluting units have been shut down. It said environmental compensation costs to the tune of Rs 76.78 crore had been imposed on 13 defaulting units across the seven districts, of which only Rs 96.74 lakh had been recovered.On May 19, the municipal commissioner asked senior officials to take immediate steps to tackle the deteriorating condition of Hindon and devise an action plan to reduce pollution in the river. Water department officials were also asked to speed up bioremediation, a process that uses microorganisms to degrade organic contaminants in soil, groundwater, sludge and solids.

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