Office of the Yamuna Pollution Monitoring Committee Appointed by Hon’Ble Ngt Room No

OFFICE OF THE YAMUNA POLLUTION MONITORING COMMITTEE APPOINTED BY HON’BLE NGT ROOM NO. 58, INDIA INTERNATIONAL CENTRE 40, MAX MUELLER MARG, LODHI ESTATE NEW DELHI – 110003

YPMC/2018/ Date: 01.10.2018

Shri Anup Chandra Pandey, Chief Secretary (U.P.), Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh

Sub:- Meeting with of the officers of State of UP regarding abatement of pollution in river Yamuna held on 25.09.2018 .

The Monitoring Committee set up by the NGT had given a notice through Chief Secretary, UP to give us a status report on the steps taken for the abatement of pollution in the river Yamuna as spelt out in the NGT orders. No status report was forthcoming. It was expected that the Monitoring Committee would have been set up by the state of U.P. which would have come prepared to attend the meeting convened by the undersigned to review the progress before it is included in the Action Plan being prepared under NGT orders.

The notice dated 14.09.2018 had specified that only senior officers of the concerned departments of the State may attend the meeting being held to review the implementation of the directions given by the NGT vide its judgment dated 13.01.2015 and subsequent orders, The following attended:-

1. Dr. B.B.Awasthi, Chief Environmental Officer, U.P. Pollution Control Board. 2. Sh.J.P.Maurya, Assistant Environment Engineer, U.P. Pollution Control Board.

The NGT had set up this Monitoring Committee to see that its orders were got implemented. Officers representing the State in the above meeting had no role relating to the key Departments in charge of Industries Irrigation & floods and sewage disposal. The State pollution control Boards are regulating agencies tasked with statutory responsibilities but instead they were defending the State without any basis to go on

It was pointed out in the meeting that BOD and COD levels at Indirapuri and Sahibabad are 03 - times higher than the acceptable norms. For effluent coming out of industries there does not seem to be any action plan for trapping it through Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs). It was stated that NOIDA had full coverage of Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) but the main problems are related to Shahdara drain which is heavily polluted with effluent from Indirapuri, Loni and Sahibabad. This has been pointed out by NGT and the only way of containing this is to see that the organized industries have a CETP and by monitoring its functioning. The industries which have no CETP coverage have to be closed down for polluting the river.

As far as sewage is concerned the Irrigation and Flood Control Department (I&FCD) of Delhi has reported that there is mixed effluent of sewage / Industrial discharge and commercial waste in the drains.

A substantial portion of the Yamuna flood plain in the NCR falls within jurisdiction of State of UP. The NGT has given directions for demarcation of the flood plain, removal of encroachments and for general restoration of flood plains through creation of water bodies, wet lands and other related measures. The officials representing the State had no information on the status of action taken on these points.

In the action plan which is being put up on the NGT website, it is accordingly being recorded that the Monitoring Committee of the State of U.P. has not been setup. During the meeting convened to consider the steps, no one could indicate the progress. In the absence of any officer of the State Government competent to respond to the CETP and sewage issues, the meeting remained inconclusive and infructuous.

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