Dr Raja Muzaffar Bhat
The National Green Tribunal’s (NGT) decision wherein Rs 3 crores have been imposed as penalty on erring Govt officials and polluters of Doodh Ganga river is being hailed by people at large. I am getting regular emails and messages from the last several days wherein people appreciate my efforts of filing a petition in the National Green Tribunal (NGT). Unfortunately the mistakes and blunders committed by officers 10 to 15 years back have to be rectified by the newly posted officers in Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) which is an ardent task now. Few weeks back I had a brief interaction with Commissioner SMC in the civil secretariat where I had been called by the Principal Secretary Housing and Urban Development Department. I had sought an appointment with Dheeraj Gupta to seek his indulgence with respect to illegal mining in Doodh Ganga , Shali Ganga , unscientific waste management in Budgam and other issues. Mr Gupta is the administrative secretary in charge of Budgam. I also raised the issue of unscientific construction of thirteen pump stations on Doodh Ganga from Chanapora to Tengpora via Barzulla and Bulbul Bagh. The Commissioner SMC seemed helpless, because to set up STPs and then connect them with pumping stations is a herculean task. Had this work been taken up 10 to 15 years back the things would have been altogether different today.
I won’t blame the Commissioner as these blunders have been done in the past by his predecessors. The respondent agencies like SMC, UEED or Geology and Mining might be blaming me for creating troubles for them , but I ask them why have laws like Water Act 1974 or institutions like NGT been constituted ? All the environmental legislations related to air, water, forests etc have been enacted with supreme wisdom by our Parliament and if we don’t have these institutions in place there will be chaos everywhere. The Doodh Ganga is now like a drain as all the sewage is pumped into it from the last many years with official permission by UEED or SMC. The untreated liquid waste which is pumped into Doodh Ganga which is a criminal offence .
SMCs World Bank funded project
SMC is currently implementing a World Bank funded scheme for upgradation of 49 Pumping Stations in and around Srinagar City. Three of the envisaged works are under execution in the Barzulla area. After meeting locals and experts in the field I have come to this conclusion that three projects have been ill conceived and suffer from serious technical flaws. For example, in the case of Bulbul Bagh pump station, SMC is proposing to transport the drainage effluent from a far off commercial hub near Tengpora bypass bridge to the centrally located residential area against the natural gradient. This will be followed by depositing the same liquid waste in waters of Doodh Ganga. Had the station been proposed in the peripheral area itself, there would have been an option of dumping the drainage waters into the Flood Spell Channel which is located less than ½ kms away from the site. SMC can create an environmental disaster by dumping output from these three closely situated Pumping Stations into a lively water stream which at an upstream position hosts a Water Filtration Plant and which currently do not have waters even fit for drinking. This is a clear violation of Water Prevention and Control of Pollution Act (Water Act 1974).
A Pumping Station located in the VIP area of Barzulla that was functional for the last around 40 years was incorporated in the World Bank funded scheme JTFRP for upgradation. At the time of executing the work, SMC shifted the site by 300 metres from the VIP area into a nearby Mohalla inhabited by the Children of lesser God, which was having its own ERA-managed efficient drainage lines and got no benefits from this upgradation work. It shall have only to bear with the health hazards posed by the pollutants emanating from the Pumping Station for all times to come.
Work against natural gradient
This upgraded Pumping Station at Bulbul Bagh which is located in the midst of hapless population and at a mere distance of 10 metres from a Masjid has been proposed with a capacity of 15 cusecs as against the currently existing capacity of 0.75 Cusec. This means it will be pumping 20 times more liquid waste into Doodh Gaga after getting commissioned. This proposed pump station is supposed to have two feeding areas, one comprising Bulbul Bagh Lanes 1, 2, 3 and 4. Another feeding area connected to the station is the one towards the Gangbugh- Tengpora Bypass Bridge. In this second area, drainage effluent from big commercial installations shall flow, into the heart of Bulbul Bagh, against the natural gradient as river Dood Ganga flows in the opposite direction. SMC is again proposing to dump the drainage waste/ effluent into the Doodh Ganga river in clear violation of Water Act 1974
The selection of construction site more judiciously, on the Bulbul Bagh Doodhganga embankment , some 200 metres from the current working site towards the Bye-Pass Bridge, would have served as solution to all associated problems. Firstly, the drainage wastes/ effluent from such a site can be directed directly for dumping into the Flood Channel after installing an STP . Secondly, the facility at such a location shall be functioning outside the densely populated areas. Thirdly, the associated drainage lines shall be carrying the effluent in the direction of the natural gradient and not against it, as is the case/ flaw with the current arrangement.
If the shifting of the drainage system is not possible under present circumstances, SMC may segregate the By-Pass side feeding area for a construction of a new drainage station in that particular area. At the same time, SMC can decrease the motoring capacity from 15 cusec to 5 cusec with a commensurate downward revision of the size of the Control Room Building. The pump stations at Chanapora Sluice and Pamposh colony will also be pumping huge quantities of untreated liquid waste into Doodh Ganga.
Conclusion
As NGT has slashed a penalty of Rs 3 cores on Govt (erring officials and polluters), I believe this is fully justified as Water Act 1974 is not a new law. This law is in operation for the last 48 years and if the mistakes have been committed in the past also , the previous planners who allowed drainage to go into Doodh Ganga untreated in SMC limits should be taken to task. Let them also be penalized for their mistakes. I am waiting for the new plan of action by the Govt especially the SMC, Urban Local Bodies , Rural Sanitation , UEED and Geology and Mining. I would appreciate it if Doodh Ganga is beautified under the Srinagar Smart City project from Bagh-e-Mehtab to Barzulla. Small STPs can be installed at multiple locations and that is the only solution to stop drainage of untreated sewage into this waterbody.
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