Sewage treatment units dormant due to stalled progress, poor infrastructure

The two upgraded sewage treatment plants (STPs) set up at a cost of around Rs 240 crore by the Faridabad Municipal Corporation (MCF) at Pratapgarh and Mirzapur villages here are yet to become fully operational.

Polluted groundwater

The unabated release of untreated and chemically laced waste into the open or below the ground has adversely affected the quality of the groundwater and has led to polluting conditions. — Narender Sirohi, An activist

Over 70% waste going into canals

• The city is faced with a crisis in the matter of sewage treatment due to poor treatment infrastructure.
• Over 70 per cent of the untreated waste is finding its way into the canals, drains and the Yamuna

Delay in getting the formal consent to operate (CTO) from the Department of Pollution Control and the lack of proper connectivity with the sewage network are reported to have stalled the progress.

With the test run of the STPs that got renovated already over, the functional capability remains between 50 to 60 per cent of the total capacity of around 180 MLD, according to sources in the civic body. While the capacity of the Pratapgarh STP is 100 MLD, the plant at Mirzapur has been upgraded to treat around 80 MLD of untreated civic waste.

The upgrade had been taken up in 2019-20 at a cost of around Rs 240 crore, and it had missed several deadlines before being ready in March this year. A delay of several months occurred in the release of the power connections according to sources. It was claimed that as the civic department is yet to get the CTO permission from the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB), the connectivity issues which include the supply of the untreated waste from various points in the city to these STPs are among the main factors that had affected the working capacity.

A major pipeline project to supply sewage waste to the STP at Mirzapur from Kheri village along the Agra canal in 2019 have been held up due to the lack of the no objection certificate (NOC) from the Forest Department of Uttar Pradesh as the land belongs to the UP government. It was to supply around 30 to 35 MLD of waste to the STP. A similar NOC for the construction of a 10 MLD STP near Lakkarpur village is also awaited.

The city is faced with a crisis in the matter of sewage treatment due to poor treatment infrastructure, sources in the state pollution control board said. Over 70 per cent of the untreated waste is finding its way into the canals, drains and the Yamuna, an official said.

“The unabated release of untreated and chemically laced waste into the open or below the ground has adversely affected the quality of the groundwater and has led to polluting conditions,” said Narender Sirohi, an activist who has lodged several complaints with the National Green Tribunal and other authorities.

Ballabgarh MLA Mool Chand Sharma said the matter was being given priority and the upgrade of the two STPs was the result of such an approach.

Narender Gupta, outgoing MLA from Faridabad segment, said both STPs would be made fully functional soon. Nitin Kadian, Executive Engineer, MCF, said while the CTO was applied from the HSPCB the work on resolving the connectivity problems of the STPs had been on.