NGT directs six local bodies to submit response on pollution in Indrayani River

Western bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in its hearing held on September 3 directed six local bodies to submit their responses on Indrayani River pollution within four weeks

PUNE: The western bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in its recent hearing held on September 3 directed six local bodies to submit their responses on Indrayani River pollution within four weeks. These local bodies include the Lonavla Municipal Council, Vadgaon Nagar Panchayat, Talegaon Dabhade Municipal Council, Dehu Road Cantonment Board, Dehu Nagar Panchayat, and Alandi Municipal Council. The bench also asked the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) and Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) to submit a fresh response on industrial discharge into the river.

Western bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in its hearing held on September 3 directed six local bodies to submit their responses on Indrayani River pollution within four weeks. (HT)

On March 22 this year, the principal bench of the NGT registered a suo moto case regarding pollution in the Indrayani River based on a news report titled, “Layer of toxic foam floats on the surface of the Indrayani River in Pune” published in the February 12 edition of Hindustan Times. The case was later transferred to the western bench. In the last hearing held in May, the western bench of the NGT asked the MPCB and PMRDA to submit fresh responses on pollution in the river.

Accordingly, both government organisations submitted their response to the NGT. As per the latest NGT order, the MPCB in its response said that seven local bodies including the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) generated 168.2 MLD of domestic sewage. The existing sewage treatment plants (STPs) in Pimpri-Chinchwad, Alandi and Dehu have a capacity of 96.5 MLD while the actual wastewater treated is 93.9 MLD. The local bodies generate 67.3 MLD of untreated domestic effluent out of which nearly 62.65 MLD of untreated effluent is released into the Indrayani River. The MPCB in its response also offered suggestions to control the pollution in the Indrayani River such as maintaining minimum natural flow of water in the Indrayani River, upgradation of existing STPs, desilting etc. The NGT order also mentioned the response of the PMRDA which said that the Indrayani River originates at Lonavla, Maval taluka in Pune and has a length of 105 km out of which, 18 km is highly polluted and comes under the jurisdiction of the PCMC. A detailed project report (DPR) for pollution abatement of this stretch is under preparation by the PCMC.

The left bank of the said river comes under the jurisdiction of the PMRDA. The PMRDA in its response said that the authority has carried out water sample analysis of an 87 km stretch and that samples were collected from various locations. A DPR worth ₹583.23 crore was also prepared and is under consideration by the National River Conservation Directorate (NRCD).

During the recent hearing, the western bench of the NGT comprising justice Dinesh Kumar Singh, a judicial member and Vijay Kulkarni, an expert member noted that the other local bodies were not yet included in this case due to which it directed the local bodies to submit their response on the river pollution issue. The bench also asked both the PMRDA and MPCB to submit fresh affidavits on industrial effluent discharge into the Indrayani River.