Pinjore hit by Himachal Pradesh sewage, but state has no money for STP

Ambika Sharma

Solan, June 28

The cash-strapped state government has failed to provide funds to set up a sewage treatment plant (STP) at Kamli village near Parwanoo despite the National Green Tribunal (NGT) monitoring it for years.

Parwanoo sewage reaching Pinjore

• Officials of the Haryana Government have been persistently raising the issue of untreated sewage from Parwanoo contaminating water supply schemes at Pinjore
• It was learnt that sewage from sectors 5 and 6 was dumped into the Kaushalya river, while sewage from sectors 1, 2 and 4, Taksal village and Dagger in Parwanoo was disposed of into the Sukhna nullah
• The Sukhna nullah merges with the Ghaggar near Surajpur opposite the Kaushalya Dam, which supplies drinking water to Haryana

This STP was being constructed on the directions of the NGT after it was found that the water quality of the Sukhna nullah along Parwanoo town was being polluted with sewage waste.

Though the STP was supposed to be commissioned in March 2020 as per the directions of the NGT, the lack of funds have stalled its completion.

It is pertinent to note that officials of the Haryana Government have been persistently raising the issue of untreated sewage from Parwanoo contaminating water supply schemes in Pinjore.

It was learnt that sewage from sectors 5 and 6 was dumped into the Kaushalya river, while sewage from sectors 1, 2 and 4, Taksal village and Dagger in Parwanoo was disposed of in the Sukhna nullah. The Sukhna nullah merges with the Ghaggar near Surajpur opposite to Kaushalya Dam, which supplies drinking water to Haryana.

In a bid to ensure treatment of sewage, two sewage treatment plants (STPs) with a capacity of 1 million litre per day each were planned. While one of these has been set up in the Sector 1 area of Parwanoo, the other, being set up at Kamli village, has hit a roadblock due to the paucity of funds. Even the first STP was yet to operate optimally and has much fewer connections than its capacity. This has defeated the very purpose of setting up the plant.

“No funds have been received for the last one year to complete the STP at Kamli village, and the contractor entrusted with the task has slowed down the work. Pending bills of about Rs 3 crore have failed to be paid since the last one year,” said Jal Shakti Department (Parwanoo) SDO Bhanu.

The quality of Sukhna nullah has been deteriorating and the value of its Biological Oxygen Demand (BoD) has been found to exceed 30mg per litre on all occasions. It has been placed under Priority-I by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). It is considered polluted and identified for remedial action.

Not only this, Parwanoo town suffers from diarrhoea outbreaks every year as sewage is found contaminating potable water with high coliform content. This year, too, more than 750 cases have been detected from April 11.

The high count of coliform in water can be an indication of drinking water being contaminated with sewage and it could cause diarrhoea and related ailments, experts opined.