Panchkula MC chief denies sewage spillage in Sukhna lake

Taking umbrage to the statement of Chandigarh chief conservator of forest and wildlife Santosh Kumar on sewage continuing to enter Sukhna lake from Saketri village, Panchkula municipal commissioner Rajesh Jogpal has written to Chandigarh home secretary Arun Kumar Gupta about the matter.

“I take strong objection to the statement of Santosh Kumar, chief conservator of forest and wildlife, Chandigarh administration. Such a statement from a senior officer does not convey the factual position and caused embarrassment to Panchkula Municipal Corporation, which is sincerely and dedicatedly following the directions of the Punjab and Haryana high court. It is requested that Santosh Kumar be suitably advised to not make such incorrect statements,” the letter reads.

Through his letter, Jogpal also cited steps taken by the Panchkula civic body to prevent the flow of sewage into Sukhna lake. He submitted that in order to stop the flow of sewage into Sukhna, the MC has constructed four check dams on the drain that holds the wastewater to ensure that it did not flow into the lake.

“The site was inspected by the officers of the engineering wing and no sewage was found spilling into the Sukhna Lake. The MC has been continuously dewatering the check dams in a consistent manner, ensuring no sewage flow into Sukhna Lake,” Jogpal wrote in the letter.

Speaking to HT, the MC chief said, “Work order for construction of one sewage treatment plant (STP), besides sewerage system in Saketri has already been issued to a construction and engineering company in April. As there was no MC land in Saketri for the STP, Haryana Shehri Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) transferred some land for it where construction has begun.”

He added that work order for eight other STPs for other villages had also been issued under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT).

The letter also mentioned that the catchment area was maintained by the Haryana forest department and work regarding plantation and its maintenance were proposed to be done by them.

Last year, justices AK Mittal and Amit Rawal from the high court had visited the lake to check the ground realties of corrective measures taken by Chandigarh and Haryana.

They had directed officials of Haryana to take immediate steps to stop flow of sewage from Saketri into the lake. The judges had also directed them to treat the sewage flowing from the village.