Despite lapse of over 5 yrs, no focus on meeting parameters
*3 plants in Jammu city remain non-operational
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Dec 28: Majority of the Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir are violating the stricter norms laid down by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) for effluent discharge thereby affecting human life and water quality of the rivers. Moreover, three STPs in Jammu city are non-operational even after spending huge amount on their construction.
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The National Green Tribunal vide its order dated April 20, 2019, while prescribing standards for effluent discharge of the STPs, directed that standards recommended for mega and metropolitan cities shall also apply to the rest of the country not only for new STPs but also for existing/under construction STPs without any delay.
Stating that new norms are intended to address the rapid deterioration of water quality, the NGT had also directed for taking penal action against those responsible for setting up and maintaining STPs that don’t meet the new standards.
However, majority of the STPs in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir are violating the norms laid down by the NGT over five years back. This can be gauged from the official data, the copy of which is available with EXCELSIOR.
Out of 20 regularly operational STPs in the UT of J&K, only 10 are qualifying to the permissible standard of Fecal Coliform Count and only six STPs are qualifying the standards of physico-chemical parameters.
In Jammu city, there are four STPs—three at Bhagwati Nagar and one at Belicharana and only one of them with installed capacity of 30 MLD is operational. The other two at Bhagwati Nagar (27 MLD and 10 MLD) are non-operational because of varied reasons. The 4 MLD STP at Belicharana, which was commissioned in April 2024, is still running on trial basis. The only operational STP qualifies the standards of Fecal Coliform Count and physico-chemical parameters and status of others will be known only after they are made operational.
The STPs which don’t meet physcio-chemical parameters are at Omara, Pitan and Patnitop in Udhampur district while as in other districts of Jammu province no STP has been installed till date.
Likewise, the STPs at Hazratbal, Habak, Nishat Laam, Brarinambal (new) and Brarinambal (old), all in Srinagar district, don’t meet Fecal Coliform Count and physico-chemical parameters. While STP at Nallah Amir Khan in Srinagar meets Fecal Coliform Count, it does not qualify physcio-chemical parameters. The other STPs in Srinagar and Anantnag districts which don’t meet Fecal Coliform Count are at Rajbagh, Alochi Bagh, Mehandi Kadal, Pahalgam and Nunwan.
As per the standards of NGT, Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) should be 10 milligrams per liter or less and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) should be less than 20 milligrams per liter or less. Likewise, Nitrogen should be 10 milligrams per liter or less, total suspended solids should be 50 milligrams per liter or less and Fecal Coliform should be less than 100 per 1000 liters.
According to the environmentalists, “if any STP is not meeting Fecal Coliform Count and physcio-chemical parameters it means the plant is discharging liquid waste in the river thereby posing risk to human as well as aquatic life”.
“It is really a matter of serious concern that even more than five years after the explicit directives of the National Green Tribunal that no steps have been taken by the concerned authorities to meet the parameters for effluent discharge from the STPs”, sources said, adding “moreover, no penal action has been taken against those responsible for maintaining STPs in utter disregard of orders of the green panel”.
About non-functional 27 MLD STP at Bhagwati Nagar, sources said, “this plant has remained non-operational till date mainly because of some dispute between National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC) and contractor and despite repeated requests from Urban Environment Engineering Department (UEED) the plant has not been handed over for its operation”. Moreover, 30 MLD STP at Bhagwati Nagar has outlived its life as the same was constructed more than 15 years back and due to this actual utilization is 20 MLD against the installed capacity of 30 MLD.
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