NGT orders immediate measures to treat sewage Kondli drain

Noida: The National Green Tribunal (NGT), in a recent order, has asked the Noida authority and the irrigation department to take immediate action for the treatment

Noida: The National Green Tribunal (NGT), in a recent order, has asked the Noida authority and the irrigation department to take immediate action for the treatment of Kondli drain that continues to discharge effluents into river Yamuna.

HT Image

The NGT, in an order dated February 25, has asked both agencies to consult Delhi University professor emeritus CR Babu and begin the treatment. The green court has chairperson, Noida authority, as the ‘nodal agency’ for the exercise.

“Based on the observation made by the inspection team, including Dr CR Babu, it is further recommended that in-situ treatment of Noida drain (Kondli drain) in Noida be carried out as immediate measure. As the Noida drain falls under the jurisdiction of UP irrigation flood control department and it is suggested that in-situ treatment may be carried out jointly be Noida authority and irrigation department in consultation with Dr CR Babu,” the NGT said in its order.

“The chairman, Noida authority, will act as nodal agency for coordination and compliance which may be further overseen and coordinated by the CPCB,” the order added.

Earlier, the central pollution control board (CPCB) — the monitoring agency — in its final inspection report to NGT had asked the authority to prepare an action plan to tap 30 local drains carrying sewage into Kondli drain. The authority, however, replied that the drain is not polluted in Noida; rather, Delhi is injecting industrial effluents into it.

However, following the order that appoints Noida authority as nodal agency, the officials said that they will hold a meeting with the Irrigation department to implement the plan chalked out by Dr Babu that includes construction of ‘constructed or engineered wetlands’ along a few stretches of the drain.

“A meeting will be called next week and an agreement will be signed between the authority, the irrigation department and Dr Babu. While the Noida authority will provide the funds, the irrigation department will do the ground work in accordance with the designs proposed by the professor,” Avinash Tripathi, officer on special duty, heath, Noida authority, said.

According to Dr Babu, six to eight ‘constructed wetlands’, each of a minimum length of 500 metres, will be constructed along a few stretches of the drain that will naturally treat the effluents and bring them within the prescribed standards.

“It costs more than ₹2 crore for an STP to treat one million litre of sewage. But the constructed wetland will do this for free. Each one will have 25 to 30 species of water plants and layers of stones and boulders. The wetlands will have two zones. The first will be an oxidation zone, where microbes will decompose pollutants and benthic fauna such as snails will eat coliform or bacterial pollutant. The second will be the physical filter zone, where stones will provide turbulence and increase oxygen levels. In this manner, effluents will get treated and Yamuna water quality will improve,” Dr Babu said, adding that while he had submitted his design already, it is now up to the Noida authority when to implement it.

The 40-year-old 20km long Kondli drain originates from Kondli village in Delhi and enters Noida (via Ghaziabad) near the Hari Darshan police post in Sector11, and after travelling for about 17km through Noida’s sectors 11, 12, 22, 50 and 168, it empties into the Yamuna near Chak Mangrola, in Sector 168. .

The petition on groundwater pollution and effluent discharge in Yamuna from Kondli drain was filed by Noida resident Abhist Kusum Gupta in 2017.