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This is an archive article published on May 1, 2022
NGT panel meets, begins work on report on new STP
The tribunal also directed for constitution of the joint-committee, and sought a factual and action-taken report.
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The Tribunal has sought a reply from the government authorities and the next hearing will take place in August. (File)A joint-committee constituted by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) held its first meeting on April 28 as it commenced work on a report sought by the tribunal last month on a new sewage treatment plant (STP) proposed to be set up at Kalol in Mehsana district.
NGT took up the issue as the proposed STP has been permitted to discharge treated wastewater into Thol lake, a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention.
Chairing the committee, IFS officer SJ Pandit said, “We are implementing the order of NGT. We are supposed to conduct consultation with various stakeholders and explore possibilities of disposing the treated wastewater elsewhere. We have started the process and there will be subsequent meetings and accordingly submit the report to NGT.”
On March 20, The Indian Express had reported that the Gujarat Urban Development Company Limited (GUDC), a state government undertaking for executing urban infrastructure projects, had floated tenders for the STP having a capacity to treat 33.10 million litres per day (MLD) for domestic sewage waste in the Kalol municipality and parts of the Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority jurisdictional areas.
Following the report, the principal bench of NGT, in an order dated March 29, had initiated proceedings and specifically sought to know if “treated sewage can be utilised for secondary purposes, instead of being discharged into the wetland”.
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The tribunal also directed for constitution of the joint-committee, and sought a factual and action-taken report.
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