Yamunanagar XEN gets notice over waste water release into Western Jamuna Canal

Tribune News Service

Shiv Kumar Sharma

Yamunanagar, May 4

The Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) has taken note of the release of untreated waste water in Western Jamuna Canal (WJC), a share of which is reportedly supplied to Delhi to meet drinking water requirement.

Action taken after DC inspection

You are hereby show caused for three days why not to initiate prosecution action against you for this violation and why not to impose environmental compensation as per the various provisions of the NGT directions and policies of the HSPCB. Nirmal Kumar, regional officer, HSPCB,Yamunanagar

The authorities of the HSPCB, Yamunanagar, has issued a show cause notice to an Executive Engineer of the Irrigation and Water Resources Department of Yamunanagar district for prosecution under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act and Environmental Compensation Policy under various NGT directions.

The action came after Deputy Commissioner Parth Gupta and a joint team of Jagadhri SDM, HSPCB authorities, Yamunanagar-Jagadhri Municipal Corporation and Irrigation and Water Resources Department inspected the ditch drain in Jammu Colony of Yamunanagar on April 29.

The team found that all of the untreated discharge (untreated waste water) of the ditch drain was being diverted into WJC by demolishing the embankment between the ditch drain and canal.

According to information, the Irrigation Department has started the construction work to make a stretch of 500-feet of the ditch drain ‘pakka’ in Jammu Colony.

However, before starting the construction work, the department reportedly didn’t make appropriate arrangements (except installing a few pumping sets) to ensure the supply of untreated waste water in the ditch drain ahead of its portion being constructed, and let the supply of the said untreated waste water go into the canal.

A share from the water of WJC is reportedly supplied to Delhi through the Munak head, situated in Karnal district, for drinking water purposes in Delhi.

Nirmal Kumar, Regional Officer of Yamunanagar HSPCB, said the board had also collected samples of the ditch drain effluent discharge into WJC, and upstream and downstream of WJC, adding that polluting drinking water of the canal was an offence of serious nature.

“You are hereby show caused for three days why not to initiate prosecution action against you for this violation and why not to impose environmental compensation as per the various provisions of the NGT directions and policies of the HSPCB,” Kumar said.

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