Rewari STPs fail to meet norms

The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has found six sewage treatment plants (STPs) in Rewari district failing to meet the discharge norms set by the National Green Tribunal (NGT). This was revealed in a report submitted by the CPCB to the NGT following the analysis of water samples collected from these STPs during a recent inspection.

The investigation stems from a complaint alleging that the STPs were discharging untreated water onto vacant land near the dried-up Sahabi river, close to Kharkhara and Khaliawas villages along the Delhi-Jaipur National Highway.

The STPs in question, operated by the Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) and the Public Health and Engineering Department (PHED), are located in Kharkhara, Dharuhera, Nasiaji Road, Kaluwas village, and Bawal town.

Following NGT’s directions on August 14, a CPCB team inspected the STPs on September 10 and collected samples from both the inlet and outlet in the presence of PHED officials. The samples were tested for key parameters, including phosphorus, biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, total suspended solids, total nitrogen, and fecal coliform, according to the report.

While the STP at Kaluwas is currently under rehabilitation, the report confirms that the remaining five are operational. The treated water from the Bawal STP is discharged onto gram panchayat land near the Haryana-Rajasthan border, while the other STPs discharge into the Sahabi river barrage. Only the Dharuhera and Kharkhara STPs have disinfection facilities, the report adds.

Local resident Prakash Yadav, who filed the original complaint with the NGT two years ago, asserted that the untreated sewage from these STPs has contaminated groundwater and damaged local vegetation. “Foul smells from dirty water in the dried-up Sahabi river area clearly indicate the water is untreated,” Yadav claimed. “The CPCB report has proven that the STPs are discharging effluents without complying with the norms.”