The National Green Tribunal (NGT) asked the Commissioner of Varanasi Municipal Corporation and the District Panchayat Raj Officer of Chandauli regarding measures taken by them to reduce pollution in Ganga.

A bench of Chairperson and judicial member Justice Prakash Shrivastava, judicial member Justice Sudhir Agarwal, and expert member Professor A Senthil Veil issued notice to the two authorities.

The order was passed on petition that flagged the discharge of untreated domestic and industrial wastewater into the Ganga in Varanasi.

On May 24, 2022, the Tribunal had formed a committee with Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) as the nodal agency with a direction to submit recommendations to reduce pollution in the river.

The committee made several recommendations to tackle the issue. Firstly, it recommended a separate drain to discharge industrial effluents generated from Ramnagar industrial area, along with strict compliance from the industries in the area. Additionally, it recommended reuse or recycling of treated wastewater in a phased manner.

Further, the committee recommended treatment of domestic sewage generated from the multimodal terminal by installation of adequate sewage treatment plants (STPs). Once treated, the effluents could be repurposed for gardening, irrigation, or dust suppression purposes, it suggested.

In addition to these suggestions, the committee recommended a direction to District Panchayati Raj Officer, Chandauli to develop a faecal sludge & septage management system for the treatment of the municipal sewage generated from habitations near Ghuraha drain, either through faecal sludge treatment plant or by co-processing at nearby STPs at Ramnagar or Ramna – Varanasi.

Accordingly, the NGT issued notice to Varanasi as well as Chandauli authorities to demonstrate measures taken by them in response to the recommendations and listed the matter for further hearing on October 16.

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