Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, May 23: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Commissioner Secretary of the Environment & Forest Department, J&K, to submit an affidavit within eight weeks detailing the timeline for setting up Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) around Doodh Ganga in Chadoora and Srinagar Municipal Corporation limits.
The directive was issued by the NGT’s Principal Bench, comprising Chairperson Justice Prakash Srivastava and Expert Member Dr Afroz Ahmad, in the case of Raja Muzaffar Bhat vs Union of India & Others.
The petitioner had approached the Tribunal nearly four years ago, citing the failure of authorities to prevent illegal waste dumping, untreated sewage discharge, and illegal riverbed mining in Doodh Ganga across the Chadoora and Srinagar areas.
The plea also highlighted pollution in Mamath Kul, Budgam, for which the Municipal Council Budgam has already been held liable.
The NGT imposed a hefty Environmental Compensation (EC) on both the Budgam Council and the Municipal Committee, Chadoora.
The directive comes after the concerned departments failed to set up STPs around Doodh Ganga in Chadoora town and SMC limits.
In its earlier proceedings on July 10, 2024, the Tribunal noted that despite daily sewage generation of 1.62 MLD in Budgam and 4.30 MLD in Chadoora, neither town has an STP. In Srinagar, where 163.546 MLD of sewage is generated daily, only about 60 MLD is being treated.
“In respect of Srinagar Municipal Corporation, as compared to the daily generated sewage of 163.546 MLD, the treatment is roughly about 60 MLD. Hence, a huge quantity of untreated sewage is flowing in the river. Let this affidavit be filed in 8 weeks.”
NGT’s Principal Bench order further reads: “As Ambika Bali, Under Secretary, Forest, Ecology & Environment Department appearing virtually also could not give any satisfactory explanation as to why the STP for treatment in the above two urban local areas have not been set up. Thus, we require the Secretary, Environment to file an affidavit disclosing the timeline for setting up the STP for treatment of sewage generated in the Municipal Council, Budgam, Chadoora and Srinagar along with the official responsible for executing it and the phase manner in which it will be executed with the household connectivity.”
The Commissioner Secretary, Environment & Forest, J\&K Government has been directed to file the affidavit within eight weeks.
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