NOIDA:More than two years after the National Green Tribunal (NGT) barred the discharge of treated or untreated sewage into natural drains and canals, the Noida Authority has told the Supreme Court that interception and treatment of several polluting drains in the city will take until 2027-28.
In a civil appeal against the NGT order filed before the apex court on February 2, the authority said while progress has been made in diverting sewage from some drains into sewage treatment plants (STPs), several medium and major drains discharging into the Kondli irrigation canal are still awaiting interception, with different timelines for completion over the next three years.
The NGT, in an order dated August 3, 2022, had imposed blanket prohibition on the use of canals, stormwater drains and water bodies for disposal of effluents, directing sewage be diverted to STPs instead of being released into natural drainage systems.
According to the application, the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) surveyed the Noida sewerage system and identified 24 drains contributing to the pollution load of the Kondli irrigation canal.
While some drains have already been connected to existing sewage pumping stations or STPs, others remain at different stages of planning and execution.
The authority has also claimed that Noida currently has eight functional STPs with a combined treatment capacity of 411 million litres per day (MLD), while sewage generation in the city is estimated at around 240 MLD. “Therefore, the existing sewage treatment plants are sufficient to cover future needs of an expanding population,” the submission said.
Despite this, the filing acknowledges untreated or partially treated wastewater continues to enter natural drains.