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Under Namami Gange programme in Uttar Pradesh, a total of 69 sewerage infrastructure projects have been approved, National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) told National Green Tribunal July 26, 2024. The projects aim to create or rehabilitate sewage treatment capacity of 2,345.56 million litres a day (MLD) and lay approximately 1,894.62 kilometres of sewerage network at an estimated cost of Rs 14,110.34 crore.
Of the 69 projects taken up/contemplated in the state, 42 have been completed, the NMCG report said, claiming these were compliant with NGT’s April 16, 2024 order. These projects have created a sewage treatment capacity of 1,006.76 MLD and laid around 1,795.22 km of sewage network. Eighteen projects with a capacity of 931.80 MLD are currently under construction and are expected to be completed between August 2024 and July 2026.
The NMCG has already developed plans for three districts of Uttar Pradesh: Bareilly, Moradabad and Shahjahanpur. In coordination with German development agency Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit, NMCG has undertaken capacity building of district Ganga committees to develop plans for 29 districts in Uttar Pradesh.
A pilot demonstration project for river surface cleaning using mechanical trash skimmers at Varanasi, Prayagraj, Mathura-Vrindavan, Kanpur and Garhmukteshwar for three years was sanctioned at a cost of Rs 12.42 crore. This project has been completed, the report added.
The NGT, July 24, 2024, directed the constitution of a joint committee to investigate the complaint of garbage dumping in drains by the Municipal Corporation of Palwal in Haryana.
The committee, comprising deputy commissioner of Palwal and Haryana State Pollution Control Board, has been tasked with visiting the site and collecting relevant information. If any violations of environmental laws and norms are found, the committee is directed to take appropriate preventive, prohibitive, punitive and remedial action against the violators in accordance with the law.
A compliance report is to be submitted to registrar general of the tribunal within two months, NGT said.
The application alleged Municipal Corporation, Palwal, was dumping garbage in drains adjacent to the National Highway leading to Gurugram, Delhi and Faridabad, causing blockage, waterlogging and environmental damage.
A joint committee was ordered to be constituted by the NGT on July 24, 2024 to investigate allegations of large-scale illegal tree cutting during the construction of colonies for the Obra Power Plant (Obra ‘C’ Thermal Power Station) in Uttar Pradesh. The complaint claimed that around 50,000 trees were illegally cut in collusion with authorities.
A new project for the establishment of the Obra ‘D’ Thermal Power Project has been sanctioned, for which about 100,000 more trees are likely to be cut and no compensatory plantation activities have been undertaken by the project proponent, the complaint alleged.
The joint committee will include district magistrate of Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board, divisional forest officer of Sonbhadra and Lucknow regional office of Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change.
The committee was told to visit the site, interact with the project proponent and the complainant, collect relevant information and submit a factual report within one month to the tribunal. The matter has been listed for September 2, 2024.