Riverfront, development of STPs part of Ghaziabad’s plan for revival of river Hindon

Ghaziabad: Ghaziabad district will prepare a proposal for the revival and rejuvenation of river Hindon as part of a combined workplan to be submitted by the Saharanpur and Meerut divisions to the Uttar Pradesh chief minister’s office

Ghaziabad: Ghaziabad district will prepare a proposal for the revival and rejuvenation of river Hindon as part of a combined workplan to be submitted by the Saharanpur and Meerut divisions to the Uttar Pradesh chief minister’s office. District officials said that their measures will be part of the plan being prepared by the Meerut division. The polluted river Hindon originates in Saharanpur and flows till Momnathal where it confluences with the Yamuna. It has two tributaries, Krishni and Kali, which also face huge pollution issues.

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“We have asked our departments to prepare a proposal for the development of the Hindon riverfront stretch in Ghaziabad. They have also been asked to prepare plans for setting up sewerage treatment plants (STPs) to treat effluents dumped in the river. Officials from different agencies have also been asked to submit plans for the stoppage of industrial effluents and also cleanup activities,” said Vikramaditya Singh Malik, chief development officer (CDO), Ghaziabad district. “Once the districts prepare their proposals, a combined plan of the two divisions will be sent to CM’s office which will decide on the future course of action, including funding involved,” he added.

The two divisions have been involved as the river flows through different districts falling under the jurisdiction of these divisions. Earlier in 2019, the Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) planned a four-kilometre riverfront on the lines of the Gomti riverfront in Lucknow. However, the plan could not materialise as per kilometre cost was estimated at ₹50 crore.

The city at present has 10 drains which release untreated waste into the river, running through Indirapuram, Kaila Bhatta, Pratap Vihar, Rahul Vihar, Dasna, Arthala, Karhera, city forest, Nandgram and Hindon Vihar. Ghaziabad municipal corporation recently said that a ₹599 crore project was approved by the government for the development of sewerage networks in Sahibabad, including the construction of a 68 million litres per day capacity STP which will tap three of the 10 drains.

According to the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB), the river Hindon has been classified in the lowest class E category whose water is not fit for drinking, bathing and propagation of aquatic life. The category E’ water source is only suitable for irrigation, industrial cooling or controlled waste disposal.

“There have been a host of different plans chalked out by different agencies in the past 15-20 years but none of them has materialised to revive the river. The river’s water quality has gone from bad to worse and there has been no sincere attempt by any government agency so far to remedy the situation. The river is exposed to industrial effluents, discharge from drains and other polluted water sources,” said Akash Vashishtha, city-based environmentalist and lawyer.

According to the state pollution board’s “Action plan for restoration of polluted stretch of river Hindon,” the stretch of river Hindon from Saharanpur to Ghaziabad has 31 drains of which 29 are untapped while the remaining two are partially tapped. Together, these drains discharge about 674.03 million litres per day (MLD) into the river which also includes untreated discharge. The report also states that the entire stretch has 10 STPs which include eight in Ghaziabad and one each in Saharanpur and Muzaffarnagar. Together, the STPs have an installed capacity of 524.5 MLD and their utilised capacity is about 224 MLD.

“The river can be saved if there is strict enforcement against polluters. Thereafter, the entire river system needs to be revived along with attached water bodies like ponds, rivulets etc, which provide water to the river. The river Hindon has no E-flow of its own and it needs to be revived with the help of these water bodies. For this, the entire river stretch needs a combined plan and funds. A piecemeal approach for revival will not yield results,” said Sushil Raghav, city-based environmentalist.