n the wake of the poor show by the Delhi government on installation of common effluent treatment plants (CETPs) in the Capital, and the blame game it chose to indulge in, thereby bringing on it a fine of Rs. 1 lakh slapped by the National Green Tribunal (NGT), a team was constituted on Wednesday to inspect all existing plants.
The NGT Bench headed by its chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar directed a team of the Delhi Pollution Control Board, Central Pollution Control Board, and IIT-Delhi to conduct inspection of all 13 CETPs in Delhi.
The team would not only assess the quantum and quality of effluent discharged at the end points of these treatment plants, but would also see if the CETPs are operating to their optimum capacity as per the prescribed standards.
The committee would submit its recommendations for upgrading and improving the performance of these CETPs.
Besides, the DSIIDC, the pollution control boards, and the department of industries would be filing a comprehensive report on the 11 industrial clusters, which are not connected with any CETP. They will also have to submit a report on effluents discharged by the units operating in these 11 industrial clusters.
The Bench sought to know from the DDA the status of CCTV cameras installed along the Yamuna floodplains to monitor dumping of waste, which was banned by the tribunal earlier.
It asked the DDA to inform it if it has chosen the best technology for the sewage treatment plants it is operating. Meanwhile, the NGT was informed by the NDMC that in its jurisdiction it has decided to levy environmental compensation proportional to sanctioned load of electricity.
The NGT had announced that every citizen in Delhi would have to pay environmental compensation towards the cleaning of the Yamuna.
The civic agency on Wednesday informed the Bench that anyone with a sanctioned load of 2 kW will have to pay a compensation of Rs. 100 per month while those between 2 and 5 kW will have to shell out Rs. 250.
For load above 5 kW, the amount payable is Rs. 500 and that above 10 kW would make for a payable compensation of Rs. 1,000 per month. On Tuesday, the NGT had slapped a fine of Rs. 1 lakh on the Delhi government for its unsatisfactory response on the status of the 11 industrial clusters. The fine would be realised from the salaries of the highest officers concerned.
It asked the DDA to inform it if
it has chosen the best technology for the sewage treatment plants it is operating
