Take steps to stop sewage discharge in Ganga, Yamuna ahead of Kumbh Mela: National Green Tribunal to Uttar Pradesh

New Delhi [India], July 4 : The National Green Tribunal (NGT) through the Government of Uttar Pradesh has directed the Prayagraj Administration to take all possible effective and expeditious steps in a time-bound action plan to ensure the minimum discharge or stoppage of sewage discharge into the Ganga and Yamuna rivers before the commencement of the Kumbh Mela.
The Principal Bench, headed by Justice Prakash Shrivastava and also consisting of Arun Kumar Tyagi (Judicial Magistrate) and Dr A. Senthil Vel (Expert Member), issued an order on July 1 stating, "Having regard to the fact that pilgrims/visitors of the Kumbh Mela will be bathing in the Ganga and Yamuna rivers and using their water for drinking, we are of the view that all possible effective and expeditious steps are required to be taken and a time-bound action plan is required to ensure the minimum discharge or stoppage of sewage discharge into the Ganga and Yamuna rivers before the commencement of the Kumbh Mela."
"We grant a further eight weeks to the State of UP to file a report reflecting progress in this direction and concluding their bid on the time-bound action plan. The concerned Authorities will ensure that the water quality of the rivers is maintained at a level suitable for drinking and that this suitability is displayed to pilgrims/visitors of the Kumbh Mela at various bathing ghats," said the bench.
After reviewing the Joint Committee's recent report, the bench noted that the report clearly reveals that there are as many as 44 untapped drains discharging untreated sewage into the Ganga river.
The report further reveals that there are a total of 81 drains in the city discharging 289.97 MLD of sewage, and the sewage received through the sewerage network in the existing 10 STPs is 178.31 MLD. The untapped drains are discharging 73.80 MLD, and the gap in the treatment capacity is 128.28 MLD.
The tribunal also noted that the counsel for the State of UP submitted that there are three STPs with capacities of 90, 43, and 50 MLD in the process of being set up to cover the gap. However, a perusal of table 8 indicates that bids for the 90 MLD and 50 MLD STPs have not been finalized and the contracts are still at the tender stage. Work on the 43 MLD proposed STP began on March 19, 2024.
The tribunal also observed several shortcomings and deficiencies in the report: against the installed capacity of 340 MLD of the 10 STPs, 394.48 MLD of sewage is being received. It needs to be clarified how the excess sewage is treated and meets the standards. Additionally, 1,66,456 households are yet to be connected, raising questions about how much further sewage will be conveyed to existing or proposed STPs. Furthermore, tapped drains should have intermediate or main pumping stations to send sewage to STPs or through a closed conduit system.
The counsel for the State submitted that out of the 44 untapped drains, 17 will be tapped and connected to the existing STP by November 2024.
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) had earlier formed a committee and directed it to carry out inspections of all drains joining the Ganga and Yamuna rivers and all STPs discharging into these rivers in District Prayagraj.