New Delhi, Aug 21 The chief secretary of Uttar Pradesh has informed the National Green Tribunal that 888 unauthorised colonies across the districts of Ghaziabad, Meerut, Baghpat, Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar and Shamli lack a sewerage network.
The state's top officer, however, has said that each district has a proposed action plan for the sewage generated.
The green body, which is hearing the matter regarding pollution of river Hindon in the state, had earlier sought a response from the authorities.
In an order dated August 17, a bench of NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava and expert member Afroz Ahmad noted that the chief secretary had filed an additional affidavit dated April 28 this year, in pursuance of the tribunal's order, disclosing the gap in sewage generation and treatment and proposed action to bridge it.
According to the data submitted, at least 888 unauthorised colonies across Ghaziabad (258), Meerut (362), Baghpat (180), Saharanpur (6), and Muzaffarnagar, including Shamli district (82), home to around four lakh people, lack a sewerage network.
It said that in Ghaziabad alone, the colonies generated over 31 million litres per day (MLD) of sewage, which flows directly into untapped drains.
The affidavit also detailed the "action plan" by each district regarding the treatment of the sewage generated and discharged by the unauthorised colonies.
The bench said that the state’s counsel sought four weeks to file an updated affidavit, saying “substantial progress” had taken place to bridge the gap.
It also noted that there was a table in the affidavit regarding household connections, under various sub-heads, such as nagar nigams or nagar palikas concerned, total length of sewer line already laid in km, number of households already connected, future plan and details of project progress status.
The bench noted that around 3,618.4 km of sewer line had already been laid, connecting over 5.16 lakh households across Ghaziabad, Loni, Meerut, Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar and Shamli.
"A perusal of the above table indicates that, for some of the districts, no clear timeline has been provided. Hence, in the next affidavit, the Chief Secretary will disclose the clear time line to bridge the gap between generation and treatment of the sewage," the tribunal said.
It also said that the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) had also filed its response regarding the status of sewage treatment plants (STPs).
Slamming the board, the tribunal said, "This affidavit reveals that almost all the STPs mentioned therein do not comply with the prescribed norms and the total coliform (TC) and faecal coliform (FC) have been found to be much beyond the permissible limit."
It said that the board had filed an additional response dated August 14 disclosing that complaints had been lodged against the state's "erring officers and authorities" under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act provisions.
"This affidavit does not disclose the name of the officers against whom such complaints have been filed. Hence, respondent 4 (UPPCB) is directed to file a fresh affidavit disclosing the names and full particulars of the officers against whom those complaints have been filed and the status of those complaints," the tribunal said.
The matter has been posted on November 2 for further proceedings.
