Shashwati Chowdhury
Published on: August 9, 2022 at 19:10 IST
The Noida Authority has been directed to pay Rs 100 crore by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) for failing to stop untreated sewage from entering the Kondli irrigation canal, which drains into the Yamuna.
The interim compensation shall be deposited with the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and used for remedial measures, according to the tribunal, which also ordered Delhi Jal Board to pay Rs 50 crore.
The 20-km-long canal starts in the Delhi village of Kondill and enters Noida through Ghaziabad. Prior to coming along with the Yamuna in Sector 168 in Noida, it travels for nearly 17 kilometres via sectors 11, 12, 22, 50, and 92.
On August 3, a Bench led by NCT chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel, after hearing a plea from a Noida resident from 2018, decided that examination of samples from the canal had shown the water was highly polluted, with values much over recommended levels.
The bench, which also comprised Professor A Senthil Vel and Justice Sudhir Agarwal, said:
The Bench found that Noida Authority had failed to prevent the release of waste water from 30 drains into the canal. Additionally, officials failed to ensure that sewage at particular facilities was treated properly.
The Bench also observed: “The results (of the UPPCB report) indicate there is marginal improvement in water quality as the drain travels through Noida. but still the concentration level of BOD and faecal coliform at the confluence point of drain with Yamuna is quite high”.
The Noida Authority said that it was examining the NGT decision legally. The DJB will submit a review petition to the Supreme Court, according to a DJB official.
Ritu Maheshwari CEO of the Noida Authority, “The judgement is currently being legally examined and we will then take the appropriate action state that compliance has been filed on the most of the issues (made by the NGT), and the outstanding ones will be dealt with.”