Ghaziabad: Over Rs6 crore allotted for STP, concreting drain

The Ghaziabad municipal corporation has set aside Rs6.5 crore for concreting of a major drain and constructing a sewage treatment plant near river Hindon

Nearly five years after the Allahabad high court had directed the concreting of a major drain and construction of a sewage treatment plant (STP) near river Hindon, the Ghaziabad municipal corporation has now decided to set aside a fund of around Rs6.5 crore for this purpose.

A major drain running through the city forest area, which discharges waste into river Hindon, is to be concreted and a sewage treatment plant set up near the river. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

Mayor Ashu Verma on Tuesday said that an amount of Rs1.48 crore has been set aside for cementing the drain and another Rs5 crore for construction of an STP near the river.

The drain runs through the city forest area and its overflowing water resulted in destruction of thousands of trees in 2008, compelling activists to move the high court.

“A stretch of the drain will be concreted by the corporation and the rest (from pillar number 24 to 28) will be done by the Ghaziabad development authority (GDA). The STP will come up near river Hindon and will prevent direct discharge of pollutants into the river. Presently, the drain empties into the river and adds to pollution,” Verma added.

In its interim order in October 2012, the high court had directed the corporation to construct an STP and concrete the drain. It carries a large amount of waste water through the city forest and discharges it directly into river Hindon.

According to the municipal corporation, funds for the drain and the STP were reserved after funds of around Rs150 crore were received from the 14th finance commission and infrastructure development funds.

“We have also set aside funds for road repair and construction in different trans-Hindon and cis-Hindon areas where drainage will also be strengthened. Further, we have also reserved Rs5 crore for repair of broken dividers that will now be constructed with RCC to provide more strength,” the mayor said.

“We are also procuring four road sweeping machines that will boost our road cleaning activities that are currently done with just two old machines,” he added.

The corporation has also set aside Rs77.8 lakh for procurement of two lakh dustbins for one lakh families in Ghaziabad. The dustbins will be used for segregation at source and will help in door-to-door collection of garbage.

In December last year, the corporation’s proposed solid waste management plant at Dundahera near national highway 24 had suffered a major setback when the National Green Tribunal had quashed the environmental clearance issued for the project and the no objection certificate issued by the Uttar Pradesh pollution control board.