New Palam Vihar locals flag illegal sewage dumping into stormwater drain

Residents of New Palam Vihar alleged dozens of tankers dump untreated sewage daily into a stormwater drain near Sector 110 to avoid STP charges.

Residents of New Palam Vihar have alleged that private septic tankers are illegally dumping untreated sewage into a stormwater drain along the Dwarka Expressway every day after creating an unauthorised access point by damaging a section of the drain near the Sector 110 entry.

Residents claimed tanker operators damaged a drain slab near Sector 110. HSPCB said no formal complaint has been received in the matter. (HT)

According to residents, dozens of tankers arrive throughout the day and empty untreated sewage directly into the drain instead of transporting it to authorised sewage treatment plants (STPs), allegedly to avoid paying treatment charges. Residents have demanded that the vehicles be seized, operators booked, and environmental compensation imposed on those found responsible.

Bharat Nain, a resident of New Palam Vihar, alleged that tanker operators damaged a portion of the stormwater drain slab to facilitate the dumping. “These tanker drivers earlier broke a portion of the stormwater drain slab to ensure they could dispose of the untreated water there. These tankers usually come from the internal areas of New Palam Vihar. Even after repeated requests to the drivers, they continue to dump STP water here,” he said.

The issue is not new, locals added. In 2020, residents complained that hundreds of septic tankers were dumping untreated sewage into a drain near Sector 111, prompting intervention by the National Green Tribunal’s Yamuna Monitoring Committee after an HT report highlighted the violations. Similar complaints of illegal sewage dumping in vacant plots and drains in the new sectors surfaced again in 2023.

Illegal disposal of untreated sewage violates the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, and the Centre’s National Policy on Faecal Sludge and Septage Management, which mandates that septage collected by private tankers be transported only to designated treatment facilities.

Advocate Seema Nain, a resident of the area, said, “These drains are meant for rainwater harvesting. If dirty water is released into them and then it is used further in another place, it puts serious environmental and health risks for the residents.”

When contacted, Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) sub-divisional officer (SDO) Vishal Shokeen said the board had not received any formal complaint. “We are not aware of this matter. If the private tankers are coming from residential areas, it is GMDA’s responsibility to take care of them. We cannot take any action in this regard,” he said.

To be sure, GMDA is the district’s metropolitan planning and infrastructure agency, responsible for master services such as arterial and master roads, bulk water supply, trunk sewerage networks, stormwater drains and major mobility projects across the Gurugram Metropolitan Area. MCG, meanwhile, functions as the municipal body and is responsible for day to day civic services, including sanitation, solid waste management, maintenance of internal roads, streetlights and local water and sewerage infrastructure in areas under its jurisdiction.

Shokeen, however, added that a committee to monitor illegal dumping of untreated STP water is likely to be approved within the next 15 days.

Meanwhile, GMDA spokesperson Neha Sharma said, “GMDA does not have the authority to fine these tank operators. It can only be done by the pollution board.”

HT also reached out to GMDA and HSVP to determine ownership of the stormwater drain, but both authorities attributed responsibility to each other. Earlier this year, the Union government pulled up MCG over untreated sewage entering drains linked to the Yamuna and ordered audits of sewer infrastructure and illegal drain connections.