Resurvey sewage discharge points along seasonal rivulets in 3 days: NGT tells Chandigarh MC
UT administration was also directed to complete phytoremediation of the two rivulets within the month
In a bid to stop pollutants from entering the Ghaggar River, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Monday directed the municipal corporation to resurvey places from where sewage was still being discharged into the Sukhna Choe and N-Choe, which merge into the river near Zirakpur, in three days.
It also set a deadline of a month for the UT administration to complete phytoremediation (plantation of trees) around the seasonal rivulets.
An NGT-appointed panel gave the directions during a review meeting that was attended by officers of the UT administration, municipal corporation and Chandigarh Pollution Control Committee (CPCC).
In its report to the NGT panel, the CPCC, said sewage was being discharged into the rivulets at six places. In Sukhna Choe waste was being discharged at the Kishangarh outlet, Shastri Nagar outlet, Daria village outlet, and the pump house being operated by the MC behind Central Poultry Development Organisation in Industrial Area, Phase-I.
The N-Choe was being contaminated at the Garden of Springs and Sector 36, near the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL).
MC commissioner KK Yadav, who also attended the meeting, said, “A joint team of MC and CPCC officials will assess the situation. Three of the leakages have already been rectified. The remaining will be remedied too.” The MC has repaired the damaged sewer line in Daria village.
The CPCC had surveyed the N-Choe recently and discovered that discharge from untreated sewage from Mohali area mixes with the N-Choe at the Garden of Springs outlet and pollutes the drain
Work delayed: Observes NGT
“Observing that the work should have been completed by now, the NGT panel directed the UT engineering department to finish the work within a month and do it properly, meeting all the scientific requirements,” said Debendra Dalai, member-secretary, CPCC.
In its August 2019 order, the NGT had directed the UT administration to undertake in-situ phytoremediation around the two rivulets and tributaries of the Ghaggar river.
Phytoremediation is a bio-remediation process that uses a variety of plants to remove, transfer, stabilise, and destroy contaminants in soil and groundwater.
The department has planted around 3,500 to 4,000 trees along the N-Choe and Sukhna Choe.
The engineering department was also asked to speed up the process of installing real-time water quality monitoring stations on the two rivulets.