NGT pulls up UT Admin officials for failing to check pollution in Sukhna

A Black-headed gull on the muddy waters of Sukhna Choe. (File(
THE EXECUTIVE committee of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) pulled up UT officials on Tuesday over high BOD (Biological Oxygen Demand) levels at discharge points of the Sukhna choe and N choe, and improper implementation of segregation and processing of waste.

High BOD levels indicate the presence of high levels of organic matter in the water, which may be a result of pollutants such as sewerage, waste and chemicals from fertilisers.
The panel, headed by Justice Pritam Pal (retired) and other members, met Municipal Corporation Commissioner K K Yadav, Member Secretary T C Nautiyal and other officers.
A senior officer who attended the meeting said, “The BOD levels were higher than normal at discharge points of Sukhna and N-choe, basically at points where these leave Chandigarh. So the panel was very upset over it and wanted us to work towards the same.”
Yadav told Chandigarh Newsline said, “The panel’s mandate was pollution in the Ghaggar river, basically the discharge of untreated water going into Sukhna and N-choe. So they checked the progress of the same and asked to fix points where untreated water was being discharged. A deadline has been given till November.”
He further said that the panel had also given the mandate of monitoring solid waste management to the Chandigarh Pollution Control Committee (CPCC).
“The CPCC has also been asked to check the progress. We were told to ensure that all rules of municipal solid waste is being adhered to,” he further said.
About segregation, Yadav said, “They asked us to strictly ensure proper segregation of waste. The processing of waste was also an issue and the CPCC has been directed to inspect if the Jaypee Group was carrying out proper processing of waste or not.”

On October 12, the Chandigarh municipal corporartion had made waste segregation mandatory.
CPCC issues showcause notices
CPCC officials were also pulled up for not dealing with industrial violations.
The CPCC had issued the 60 showcause notices to industrial owners, including closing down notices to two units, soon after.
The CPCC is regulatory body that grants consent for operation of industrial units under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act. 1974, Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 and Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. Consent is granted with certain terms and conditions which have to be abided by all industrial units. The CPCC observed that many of the units were not complying with the same.

Two industrial units which failed to comply with provisions of the Acts were directed to close down their units and the electricity department was also directed to disconnect their connections.
Certain conditions industrial units were violating were:
Waste water effluent quality of the industrial unit did not meet general standards laid down in the Environmental (Protection) Rules, 1986, before disposal into the sewerage system.
The industrial units also didn’t submit test reports of samples of waste water/ noise/ emissions to the CPCC/ CPCB/ MOEF&CC within the stipulated period of time.
They didn’t apply for renewal of consent before the date of expiry of their consent order.
They didn’t maintain a proper logbook as provided by CPCC which is an essential component to check the functionality of the Effluent Treatment Plant installed by the industrial unit.
What is BOD?
Biological Oxygen Demand is the amount of dissolved oxygen that aerobic (oxygen-using) biological microorganisms need to break down organic material present in a given water sample at certain temperature over a specific time period. The presence of large quantities of algae means that aerobic bacteria that decompose the algae will use up enormous amounts of oxygen. This tells on the levels of dissolved oxygen (DO) in the water.
High levels of organic matter that monopolise oxygen prevent aquatic life from flourishing. It also means that high organic matter in the water could be a result of pollutants such as sewerage, waste such as paper, or chemicals from fertilisers.
High BOD levels indicate the presence of high levels of organic matter in the water, which may be a result of pollutants such as sewerage, waste and chemicals from fertilisers.

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