The pollution control board of Haryana has initiated the mapping of locations where sewage discharges from drains into the Yamuna. This endeavor aims to assess the quantity of waste entering the river and determine the extent to which proper treatment is applied before release. Officials from HSPCB mentioned on Thursday that they are actively identifying all the interceptions and drains linked to the river.
Sewage from Gurgaon is largely directed into the Najafgarh channel that drains into the Yamuna. Most other districts of the state directly release wastewater into the river as well.
The pollution board will also install GPS trackers on septic tankers to check if untreated sewage is being dumped into the drains directly. The treatment plants will be monitored too, officials said.
The move comes after the National Green Tribunal (NGT) last week pointed out “deficiencies” in Yamuna pollution reports submitted by Haryana, UP and Delhi governments, and asked them to provide revised reports.
HSPCB had told NGT last year that the state generates 1,461 MLD (million litres per day) of wastewater, of which 921 MLD is treated at 11 sewage treatment plants. The remaining – 540 MLD, or 36% — is likely released into the river without being processed.
“We are collecting data for all districts where drains and STPs are connected to the river. By the first week of February, we will be able to get the latest data on how much sewage is dumped into Yamuna,” HSPCB chairperson P Raghavendra Rao told .
“We will disclose each drain that is discharging treated or untreated effluent into the river. We have directed all urban local bodies to monitor the interception points and if there are areas where septic tankers are being used, then GPS monitoring needs to be carried out. We are also monitoring the condition of STPs,” Rao said.
India’s most polluted river, Yamuna is where several NCR cities, including capital Delhi, discharge wastewater. Analysis of water samples taken from the river from Delhi-NCR region has often thrown up alarming levels of pollutants.
In 2022, survey data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) revealed that nearly half (45%) of the ammoniacal nitrogen in Yamuna waters originated from Panipat.
