The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) to furnish a report on a plea which alleged that waste water being discharged had damaged crops and contaminated groundwater.
Taking note of a November 2019 report furnished by the pollution control board, a Bench headed by NGT chief Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel said, “Let further action be taken in terms of the recommendations and compliance report filed by the Board within one month.”
In its report, the HSPCB had said, “Sewage treatment plant [STP] at Barwala, Haryana, is not complying with the prescribed norms of the HSPCB. The agricultural field of complainant is flooded with discharge of STP water. The STP is installed in a low-lying area and there is no drainage arrangement for the disposal of treated water.”
The Tribunal was hearing a plea moved by Sukhwanti who alleged that the discharged waste water had damaged crops, contaminated groundwater, led to the death of livestock and affected soil fertility.
‘Drainage network’
In a slew of recommendations, the report had suggested “Public Health Engineering Department [PHED] to improve operation and maintenance of STP and make arrangements for laying suitable drainage network for disposal of treated effluents” and “environmental compensation to be levied by HSPCB on PHED for period of non-compliance of Barwala STP as per approved guidelines”.
