NGT orders land grant to DJB for sewage plants

Acquiring land remains the biggest challenge for the DJB, in order to execute the NGT’s ambitious plan to clean the Yamuna — Maili se Nirmal Yamuna Revitalisation Project 2017.

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Constructing 15 new plants and setting up sewage pumping stations at a cost of Rs 1,666 crore constitutes the first phase of this plan, officials said.

“We have identified land in 11 locations. Of this five are owned by the gram sabha, two are partially owned privately with the gram sabha, while three are privately owned. In one case, we own land near the coronation pillar, where a 40 MGD plant is to be built over the supplementary drain,” an official said.

The NGT also warned the Delhi chief secretary and other officials of coercive action such as attachment of salary. “We make it clear that the senior-most authority of the department concerned and chief secretary will be personally responsible, besides bearing the cost for non-compliance of the order,” the bench said.

The Haryana government also got a piece of the judge’s mind for not complying with its order regarding the setting up of a treatment plant at the Gurgaon border, where the drain from Haryana joins the Najafgarh drain in Delhi.

The tribunal said none of the civic bodies, except for the New Delhi Municipal Council were able to provide evidence of cleaning or dredging drains. Neither had they shown they had fined anyone Rs 5,000 for throwing or dumping waste in the drains, the bench said.

“Everybody cooks up a story and tells us something. If you have not done any work, you should have the courage to accept it,” the bench said and gave a “last opportunity” to the officials to implement them while posting the matter for June 8.