Patiala, November 19
Curtains are down on new projects in Kharar and Zirakpur in SAS Nagar district following intervention of the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) after the two towns failed to ensure zero untreated discharge.
The development comes in the wake of reminders and repeated failure on part of the municipal councils of the two towns to ensure zero discharge of sewage into Ghaggar river. The PPCB has now asked the Local Bodies Department to put a full stop on “new projects” till new sewage treatment plants are “installed and commissioned”.
The two towns, considered hotbeds of real estate in Punjab, are being held responsible for allowing untreated waste enter various waterbodies, which eventually pollute the Ghaggar.
Sources said the capacity of a sewage treatment plant (STP) installed at Zirakpur was of 17.3 million litres per day (MLD) while the one at Kharar had a capacity to treat 11 MLD of sewage.
“The two STPs are unable to deal with the existing water pollution load of Zirakpur and Kharar. There is a gap of 17 MLD in generation and treatment of sewage in both these towns,” they said.
On November 2 this year, PPCB Member Secretary Karunesh Garg had shot a letter to the Principal Secretary, Local Bodies, Punjab, highlighting that “a new STP of 17 MLD capacity for Zirakpur and one of 10 MLD capacity for Kharar were at planning stage”. “Untreated waste water from these towns is being discharged into natural drains such as Sukhna choes, Singh nullah and Jainti ki Rao, which ultimately meet the Ghaggar,” read the letter, a copy of which is with The Tribune. “The matter regarding upgrade of the existing STPs and installations of new STPs and plugging of unauthorised outlets was being flagged at various levels, but no appreciable progress has been achieved in the matter till date,” the letter pointed out.
Sources within the government claimed that municipal councils of Zirakpur and Kharar “giving a go ahead to various new projects and sanctioning building plans of new projects” and giving “no objection certificates for disposal of treated/untreated waste water into sewer lines” in the area, without considering the fact that the existing STPs were already overloaded, further polluted natural drains.
“It is requested to direct the officials concerned not to give permission for any new project in Zirakpur and Kharar till the time the new STPs are commissioned or there are disposal arrangements for reusing the treated water at the project itself. Also, the officials should be directed to take up the matter with the Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board for timely installation and commissioning of the STPs,” stated the PPCB in the letter.
18 towns, villages polluting river
A recent report by the PPCB under the National River Monitoring Programme showed that quality of water flowing in Ghaggar at Mubarikpur is Class “D” (unfit for drinking). The quality remains Class “D” till the water leaves Punjab and enters Haryana. In all, 18 towns and villages of Punjab discharge sewage into the river without any treatment, the report said.
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