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GMDA to clean toxic water of Badshahpur drain with phytoremediation
Gurugram The Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) will clean the highly toxic water of Badshahpur and Najafgarh drains with phytoremediation method
Gurugram The Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) will clean the highly toxic water of Badshahpur and Najafgarh drains with phytoremediation method to improve quality of water that currently is polluting the river Yamuna. The process is likely to start from the next week.
A GMDA official familiar with the matter said the phytoremediation is a process in which various types of plants are used to remove contamination in the water. However, it is a temporary solution as advised by the National Green Tribunal (NGT), the official said.
A little less than 1km of Najafgarh drain falls in the Gurugram district where tail end of Badshahpur drain meets.
“From the next week, we will grow weeds/plants in the water for a time period of two to three months. However, it may be difficult in the running water of the drains. So, we will create enclosures at places to contain plants or weed,” said the official.
The NGT in its order on September 11 strongly recommended the phytoremediation process for the open drains from January next year only as temporary solution.
For permanent solution, the green tribunal has fixed a deadline of December 2020 for the Haryana government to make a plan to treat the sewage of the city by creating adequate sewage treatment plants (STPs).
Lalit Arora, GMDA chief engineer, said, “We are on the job to construct STPs of 90 million gallons daily (MGD) at three different places in the city to cater to the city’s demand. Meanwhile, following the NGT directions, we will do phytoremediation of Badshahpur and Najafgarh drains on the Gurugram-Delhi border to reduce contamination.”
The GMDA has to submit a report (action plan) to the Haryana chief secretary office, which will review the action plan on Friday in Chandigarh as per NGT directions.
The NGT’s direction had come in a four-year-long case between Manoj Mishra versus state of Haryana regarding discharge of polluted water to Yamuna through various drains and through Najafgarh drain in Gurugram.
The state’s two cities — Gurugram and Faridabad — were on NGT radar for discharging polluted water to Yamuna for years. The bench had turned down affidavit of the Haryana government in which it had sought time till December 2023 for permanent solution.
As per an affidavit of the GMDA in January this year, the city discharges 80 to 100 MLD untreated water daily that leads to Yamuna via Badshahpur and Najafgarh drains.
