Residents want Noida authority to set up water treatment plants at reservoirs

Noida: The Noida Authority has filed a complaint with police to lodge an FIR against Logix Infrastructure Private Limited for allegedly disposing bad quality water from a sewage treatment plant (STP) at Logix Blossom County in Sector 137.

The complaint was submitted after a joint inspection conducted by the authority and the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB), in compliance with orders from the National Green tribunal (NGT). The authority earlier submitted similar complaints against four other societies.

“During the joint inspection it was found that the STP in Logix Blossom County was operational but the treated water quality did not meet NGT norms. This is in violation of the environmental clearance granted to the society. Hence, the chief executive officer has asked for filing an FIR against the violators on July 26,” the Noida authority order said.

“Following the inspection conducted by the authority, we have made changes to the STP in question. Another STP is being constructed according to the same norms. We have also sent water samples for testing and are expecting lab reports within this week. We will submit the reports to the Noida authority,” said Aditya Singh from Logix Infratech.

In connection with an ongoing NGT case filed by Sector 137 resident Abhisht Kusum Gupta, the authority has to file a status report on all STPs in Noida, including those within group housing societies. While the next hearing in the case is scheduled for Wednesday, the latest report mentions that there are 95 group housing societies in Noida, of which 77 have functional STPs. Four societies have ongoing cases in the Supreme Court, and complaints have been filed against an additional four. Plants at 10 societies are at different stages of completion.

“There are many other societies which are not fully complying with NGT norms. They are discharging dirty water that runs into rivers through drains. We have been consistently asking authorities to inspect all societies but the process is slow,” Gupta said.

According to UPPCB officials, violators face rigorous and coercive action regularly and many societies have started complying. “We filed for prosecution against 70 defaulters at a special court in Lucknow under provisions of the Water Act, 1974. This followed our inspection conducted in September-November last year. We are also imposing environmental compensation and conducting joint inspections with the Noida authority regularly,” said Praveen Kumar, regional officer, UPPCB.