Cut illegal sewage lines or face police action: Gurugram civic body warns residents

GMDA chief engineer Lalit Arora directed the enforcement team to find out the number of illegal sewage connections across the city and lodge police complaints against the offenders.

The Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA), on Tuesday, warned residents and property owners to not discharge their sewage into storm water drains and disconnect the same at the earliest.

The Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA), on Tuesday, warned residents and property owners to not discharge their sewage into storm water drains and disconnect the same at the earliest. (HT File Photo)

GMDA chief engineer Lalit Arora directed the enforcement team to find out the number of illegal sewage connections across the city and lodge police complaints against the offenders.

“No one can discharge sewage directly into storm water drains. Sewage has to be treated at the GMDA sewage treatment plants and then discharged. Direct discharge into drains is illegal and offenders can face police action,” Arora said, adding that enforcement team has found 15 illegal connections in a survey held between March 1 and 15. “Survey will be continued,” he said, adding that the agency has sent notices to the 15 people.

The action against illegal sewage disposal has come in the backdrop of an order from the National Green Tribunal (NGT), which in the case of Manoj Misra vs State of Haryana (September 2016), had directed the Haryana government (GMDA and MCG) to stop illegal sewage disposal into storm water drains.

In a previous survey, GMDA had identified 50 spots in the city where untreated sewage was being dumped into stormwater drains. “Regarding these connections, our action plan has been been submitted to NGT in February,” Bansal said.

Sewage disposal in the city remains a critical issue as many areas still do not have sewage network. On December 28, HT?had reported that in the absence of sewage infrastructure, residents living in areas along the Dwarka Expressway raised health and environmental concerns.