Buddha nullah pollution: In Ludhiana, no sewage treatment plant complies with norms

Untreated sewage is flowing into the Buddha Nullah and no sewage treatment plant (STP) or common effluent treatment plant (CETP) fully complies with the prescribed discharge standards, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has found.

These are the findings of the federal environmental protection body after it monitored the STPs and CETPs during spot visits in July.

In a report submitted to the Central Monitoring Committee (CMC), headed by Secretary, Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, under the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Debashree Mukherjee, CPCB Scientist-E Vishal Gandhi has listed main reasons behind deterioration of water quality of the key Sutlej tributary.

Gandhi, technical director responsible for the scientific and technical activities of a group of divisions in the CPCB, reported that against total sewage generation of 700 million litres daily (MLD) from Ludhiana town, only 484 MLD was being treated while the remaining was being discharged into the nullah without any treatment.

He said all six STPs and three CETPs, having total installed capacity of 105 MLD, also did not comply with the prescribed discharge standards.

The CPCB also reported that the influent characteristics of sewage did not conform to the design parameters of the STPs, resulting in their poor functioning.

National River Conservation Directorate (NRCD) Project Director Rajeev Kumar Mital said in case of industrial effluents getting mixed with sewage reaching the STPs, compliance with the prescribed norms became difficult. Critical points should be identified for corrective action on priority, he suggested.

Mukherjee desired to know the factors responsible for increase in pollution levels in the Buddha Nullah, especially when more sewage treatment capacity had been created under the Rs 840-crore rejuvenation project, more industrial units connected to the designed effluent treatment system through CETPs and the number of dairies had been reduced.

She emphasised on re-examination of the basic premise and complete diagnosis of the problems.

For this purpose, the Centre has mooted an action plan to clean and preserve one of the most polluted Sutlej tributaries, which was further contaminating the river waters used for drinking and irrigation purposes not only in Punjab, but also in Rajasthan.

To undertake the time-bound action plan, a joint Centre-state group of senior officials and experts has been constituted under the chairmanship of Director, Science, Technology and Environment Manish Kumar. The group has been asked to diagnose the issues concerning persisting pollution in the nullah, evaluate the existing pollution abatement infrastructure to ensure optimisation and suggest action within one month.

Terming it as an eye-opener, environmentalists Col Jasjit Gill (Retd) and Jaskirat Singh, who have been spearheading the sustained campaign to free the Buddha Nullah of widespread pollution under the banner of civil society movement Kale Pani Da Morcha, said it was high time the Centre and Punjab together took effective measures to clean and preserve the Sutlej tributary.

Pollution board’s findings

216 MLD of the total 700 MLD sewage discharge flows into the Buddha Nullah without treatment daily

All six STPs and three CETPs don't comply with the prescribed discharge standards

Influent characteristics of sewage don’t conform with the design parameters of the STPs, resulting in poor functioning