Taking stringent measures to curb pollution in the Yamuna river, the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) has deployed senior nodal officers and constituted special teams to conduct surprise raids in the 10 districts through which the river flows in the state. Notably, the Yamuna flows for around 320 km through Haryana.
The river enters Haryana through Yamunanagar with relatively clean water, passes through Karnal, Panipat and Sonepat, and then enters Delhi. It re-enters Haryana through Faridabad and, after flowing through Palwal, enters Uttar Pradesh near Kosi in Mathura.
The HSPCB conducted a detailed survey of 11 drains discharging into the Yamuna in the state. These include the Dhanaura drain in Yamunanagar, Drain No. 2 in Panipat, Drain No. 6 in Sonepat, Mungeshpur drain, KCB drain and Drain No. 8 in Bahadurgarh, Leg-1, Leg-2 and Leg-3 drains in Gurugram, Budhiya Nala in Faridabad, and Gaunchi drain in Ballabgarh/Palwal.
The pollution board carried out the survey last year and identified points where sewage, solid waste, industrial waste and hazardous waste were allegedly being discharged into these drains without treatment through Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) and Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs).
Based on the survey findings, the board prepared a Yamuna Action Plan (YAP) aimed at making the river pollution-free.
Taking the initiative a step further, the HSPCB has now appointed nodal officers, including Chief Environment Engineers (CEEs) and Senior Environment Engineers (SEEs), in the 10 districts through which these drains flow.
The board has appointed Bhupender Rinwa, CEE, as nodal officer for Gurugram; Balraj Ahlawat, CEE, for Rohtak and Jhajjar; Satinder Pal, SEE, for Faridabad and Palwal; Jatinder Pal, SEE, for Karnal; Sanjeev Kumar, SEE, for Sonepat; Naveen Gulia, SEE, for Yamunanagar; Nirmal Kumar, SEE, for Panipat; and Kuldeep Singh, SEE, for Nuh district.
Yogesh Kumar, Member Secretary of the HSPCB, said all CEEs and SEEs had been appointed as nodal officers for the districts through which the Yamuna flows. “All nodal officers will periodically review the monitoring, implementation and progress of the Yamuna Action Plan in coordination with the concerned regional officers,” he said.
Apart from this, the nodal officers will also hold meetings with industrial associations to promote environmental awareness and ensure compliance with pollution control norms. They will work proactively to identify and address potential environmental threats within their jurisdictions, the Member Secretary added. The teams will also identify industries causing significant pollution, especially those responsible for water pollution.
Besides the nodal officers, special headquarters teams comprising SDOs and Scientist-B officials will conduct surprise raids across the districts. Separate joint teams of officials from the Public Health Engineering Department and the pollution board will also carry out surprise inspections in all 10 districts through which the Yamuna flows, Kumar said.
“The main objective of these efforts is to make the Yamuna pollution-free while it flows through Haryana. No one violating pollution norms will be spared,” the Member Secretary asserted.
