NGT slaps ₹100 crore interim compensation on Noida for polluting rivers

The Noida authority has also been asked to sign a pact with NTPC to utilise sewage discharged into the drains that meet the two rivers.

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Wednesday fined the Noida authority ₹100 crore and the Delhi Jal Board ₹50 crore for discharging untreated water into drains that eventually meet the Yamuna and Ganga rivers.

The order came in response to a 2018 plea, which said Noida, Ghaziabad and Delhi were discharging untreated water, which merge with, and pollute, the Yamuna (above) and the Ganga. (HT photo)

The tribunal has also asked the chief secretaries of both states to also identify erring officials, take remedial action and recover compensation from them if required. The Noida authority has also been asked to sign a pact with NTPC to utilise sewage discharged into the drains that meet the two rivers.

“Pending consideration of action against other authorities and final accountability of Noida Authority and DJB, they are directed to deposit respectively a sum of ₹100 crore and ₹50 crore in separate accounts with Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) towards interim compensation to be utilized for restoration measures in terms of a remedial plan to be prepared jointly by a joint Committee of Chairman CPCB, Chairman DPCC and Chairman UPPCB,” said the order by a bench of justices Adarsh Kumar Goel, Sudhir Agarwal and A Senthil Vel.

The order came in response to a 2018 plea by one Abhisht Kusum Gupta, a resident of Noida’s Sector 137, who said Noida, Ghaziabad and Delhi were discharging untreated water into the Kondli and Shahdara drains, which merge with, and pollute, the Yamuna and Ganga.

During multiple hearings in the past, the green tribunal has directed municipal authorities in the two state to act and stop the discharge of untreated water. However, the water samples taken and reports submitted by pollution control boards have repeatedly shown that the water in these drains is of poor quality.

NGT on Wednesday also directed that the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) issue directions within two months to all state pollution control bodies that canals, water bodies and natural stormwater drains are not used to discharge treated or untreated trade or sewage effluents.

Stormwater drains, canals and water bodies need to also be geo-tagged and given UID (unique identification), the court said.

Noida authority CEO, Ritu Maheshwari said, “Over the past two years we have filed multiple FIRs, taken action against several societies and made sewage treatment plants functional in 77 societies. Of the rest, some [societies] are either not occupied yet, or are under court guidelines or are older societies that don’t have space the laws did not mandate having STPs within when they were constructed. We have connected these to the central STPs. We have also created one wetland and four others are nearing completion. We also tried to provide land for Khoda treatment plant, though it is not in our jurisdiction, but we could not get anything. All this has already been submitted in court. We’ll examine the order and comply and will also see what we can do legally.”

Delhi government spokespersons did not comment on the development. A DJB official said that the order is based on a CPCB report and they will challenge it in the Supreme Court.

Additionally, the tribunal said, 30 identified drains in Noida are to be diverted to existing sewage treatment plants and not the Noida drain, where they currently end.

Discussing the flow on untreated water in detail in Noida, the green court observed that of the 95 group housing societies, 56 are still non-compliant in setting up sewage treatment plants (STPs), while other compliances have also not been met.

“Noida authority has allowed third party rights to be created and allowed a situation in which water pollution load can be controlled by preventing occupation. If without functional STPs, the group housing societies were not allowed to be occupied, the situation could have been better handled. There is no effective monitoring by Noida to perform its essential duties. It is surprising that it could not create an environment cell and hire any professional in seven months. It is difficult to believe that this job was so difficult. For this lapse, it is necessary to fix accountability of Noida authority. Even seven months after this lapse was pointed out vide order dated 23.12.2021, no effective action has been taken either to stop pollution or to make the group housing societies effectively accountable. No coercive steps have been taken like blacklisting, cancelling occupancy certificate/completion certificate. Further, six STPs of Noida, have been wrongly classified as compliant,” states the NGT order.

The court’s observation was based on reports submitted by the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board as well as the Noida authority itself. Water samples taken on five different occasions by UPPCB from the Noida drain shows that the water was blackish, smelled unpleasant and did not meet the standards.