The contaminated water flowing through both Shahdara and Noida irrigation open drains have been emanating foul-smelling toxic gases for over a decade. The gases are a health hazard to more than 2 lakh people living in the vicinity.
The only step the government has taken in the past 10 years is setting up Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) to treat the water flowing through them.
And what do these STPs do?
Simply put, they treat the dirty water flowing through these drains and — wait for it — release the treated water back into the sludge-filled drains!
What is the point of spending a fortune and installing a system that does not help?
The process of mixing treated water with effluent (read: contaminated water) is a clear violation of a Supreme Court directive. On February 7, 2007, the Supreme Court in its order had instructed Delhi Jal Board (DJB) to “ensure that the treated effluent is not mixed with untreated waste before it flows into Yamuna.”
When City Spidey discussed the matter with DJB, VK Gupta, chief engineer, claimed that most of the treated water was being utilised for industrial purposes. The STP operator at Chilla village made a similar claim. He said, “We are not releasing the treated water back into the Shahdara drain. The treated water is being sent out for irrigation purposes using a separate pipeline.”
But one peek behind the STP and the reality is clear: The STP is treating the water from up-stream and releasing the treated water back into the same drain down-stream. There is hardly a 300-m difference between the up-stream and down-stream of this particular drain.
Officials in government authorities, on the condition of anonymity, said that as the Yamuna was already dirty; releasing the treated water into it would not serve the purpose. “First we have to clean the Yamuna and then release the treated water there,” said a senior official, requesting not to be named.
Dr Bhure Lal, the chairman of Environment Pollution Protection and Control Authority (EPPCA) for the NCR, stressed on recycling and re-using the treated water. “The government agencies should have a mechanism to ensure maximum utilisation of the treated water. They can use the treated water to recharge groundwater, for irrigation, to water the green areas in the city, there are several feasible options. If they do not have any use of the treated water, the STPs are of no use. It is just waste of money and eyewash,” concluded Dr Lal.
