Sewage dumping in Gurugram’s Sector 14 green belt fouls up locality

Residents visit the area and saw tankers dumping sewage at various spots

Locals in Gurugram alleged that untreated sewage was being disposed of in the green belt of Sector 14 posing a huge health hazard. Residents said that despite several complaints to the civic authorities, nothing has been done and tankers of private agencies are still releasing sewage in the area every day.

Such mismanagement of sewage poses serious risks for both the environment and human health, residents said, adding that the green belt between Maharana Pratap Chowk to Atul Kataria Chowk has been damaged. (Representational Image/HT Photo)

Residents of Sector 14 and Sector 17 approached the former area councillor and visited the spot on Monday. They alleged that they saw tankers at the spot that had dumped sewage at various spots along the green belt. Residents also said that the waste was even dumped close to the main road.

Such mismanagement of sewage poses serious risks for both the environment and human health, residents said, adding that the green belt between Maharana Pratap Chowk to Atul Kataria Chowk has been damaged.

“The area is polluted and has become a breeding ground for mosquitoes and other insects. We have stopped using the main road due to the foul smell,” said Navin Kumar, a resident of Sector 14.

Surekha Gulia, a resident of Sector 14, said she has stopped dropping her children for school from the main gate due to the foul smell. “The children board and alight from the bus from the main road. Many parents have requested bus drivers to park at another location due to the unhygienic condition. But there is no other option to park buses as children will have to walk a longer distance,” she said.

Anoop Singh, former councillor of ward 7, said that the tanker driver was stopped several times in the past but to no avail. “I have written to officials of the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) regarding the same and have sought registration of a criminal case against the agency for disposing of untreated sewerage in open,” he said.

Singh said that people have stopped walking in the parks adjacent to the green belt due to the foul smell emanating from the stretch due to these tankers.

The GMDA officials said they have identified the private agency involved in releasing the waste in the area and have initiated action against them.

Subhash Yadav, the divisional forest officer and head of urban environment division, GMDA, said that they have prepared an action plan to check illegal disposal of sewage in the city. “Teams have been directed to penalise the private agency and impound their tankers,” he said.

Yadav said they are already working on the plan to develop the green belt on the stretch and that the work was on hold due to ongoing construction work at Atul Kataria Chowk. “We will start development work from July and the area will be taken care of by GMDA,” he said.

Gurugram-based environmentalist Vaishali Rana, said that such haphazard management of sewage poses serious risks. “The sewage needs to be treated at sewage treatment plants (STP) before being disposed of. Sewage is extremely harmful and contains organic material, which can cause eutrophication of the area’s water bodies and groundwater, and can deplete the soil health. Under no circumstance should it be dumped openly,” she said.

The city generates 393 million litres per day (MLD) of sewage which is treated at the three STPs — Manesar, Behrampur and Dhanvapur. The private agencies release the sewage waste into the STPs, discharging it into the Najafgarh drain through leg 1 (also known as Badshahpur drain).