NGT upholds ‘stop work’ notice to civic body over STP plant at Pune’s Chikhali

The order dated September 17 said that the NGT was “inclined to pass an order restraining further construction” of the STP, however, this was not done as Mansi Joshi, counsel for MPCB informed the NGT that stop order has already been issued by the MPCB

The Principal Bench of National Green Tribunal (NGT), New Delhi, has upheld a stay order issued by the Maharashtra Pollution Conntrol Board (MPCB) with regards to the construction of A 12 million litres per day (MLD) capacity sewage treatment plant (STP) by the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC).

In March 2019, PCMC had decided to construct a 12 MLD capacity sewage treatment plant on a 5 gunthas plot which was reserved for the purpose in 2007 (Hindustan Times)

The order dated September 17 said that the NGT was “inclined to pass an order restraining further construction” of the STP, however, this was not done as Mansi Joshi, counsel for MPCB informed the NGT that stop order has already been issued by the MPCB.

In March 2019, PCMC had decided to construct a 12 MLD capacity sewage treatment plant on a 5 gunthas plot which was reserved for the purpose in 2007. However, residents of River Residency Cooperative Housing Society, Chikhali, opposed the construction on grounds that it violated the Blue flood line. Civic officials, on the other hand, said the sewage treatment plant was meant for the public and therefore was exempted from the Blue Line criteria. The Blue Line prohibiting construction in the floodline area is marked by the government once in 25 years.

The NGT was informed by the MPCB that “work has now been completely stopped,” and therefore, the NGT said it was not felt necessary to pass any further orders “except to direct that the construction shall not resume until disposal of this case.”

Vikram Jagtap, a member of the River Residency Cooperative Housing Society, which is located close to the STP construction said the PCMC’s construction could have endangered the housing society from floods. He said, “It is very disappointing that a local body like the PCMC did not follow the blue line restriction which was prescribed by other government departments like the Irrigation department.”

On May 22, the NGT had formed a three-member joint committee comprising members of the Pune irrigation division and the municipal corporation under the chairmanship of the regional officer of the MPCB to study the matter in detail.

The MPCB study found that the construction of the STP was violating the Blue Line norms of the Indrayani river.