ગુજરાતી
English
Standard operating procedure (SOP) has been made to prevent river pollution.
The Gujarat Pollution Control Board will be notified to serve a closure notice to that unit and the illegal construction will be demolished.
July 8, 2024
The High Court has ordered the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation to prevent pollution of the Sabarmati river. It has decided to implement the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP). The building permission of the industrial unit discharging polluted or wastewater into the river will be cancelled. Also, the Gujarat Pollution Control Board will be notified to serve a closure notice to the industrial unit discharging untreated wastewater into the river. In any case, if it is found that the construction of the industrial unit is illegal, that construction will be demolished by the municipal administration. All the outlets discharging water into the Sabarmati river will be monitored.
A PIL was filed in 2021 to prevent pollution of the Sabarmati river in the city. Later, when no improvement was seen in the pollution situation of the Sabarmati river from time to time, the High Court said in a stern tone that due to the negligence of the municipal administration, uncontrolled polluted water is being released into the river.
To prevent pollution of the Sabarmati river, Municipal Commissioner M. Thennarasan has made a standard operating procedure (SOP) on July 4 and directed the senior officials of all the concerned departments of the Municipal Corporation to implement it accordingly. According to the SOP, a task force of officials from various departments has been formed.
The responsibility of the officer of which department will be decided. The officials of the task force will have to conduct surveys as per the checklist given from time to time and report to their senior officers. Units not following the rules or not having a license will be sealed immediately. Various industrial units of the city are releasing polluted water into the Sabarmati river at night taking advantage of the darkness. A patrol team will be formed to stop this.
Survey started in South-North and East Zones
After the announcement of the new standard operating procedure (SOP) last Thursday regarding polluted water being released into the river, the Municipal Corporation has started checking factories and other industrial units located in various wards of South, North and East zones of the city. Apart from this, inspections will also be conducted in other zones including the Central Zone. Vijay Patel, Additional City Engineer, Water Resources Management Department of the Municipal Corporation, said that if polluted water is found to be released in the Western Trunk Main in this way, then action will be taken against that unit ranging from cutting the connection to shutting it down.
Apart from the task force, a patrol team will also be formed.
Apart from the task force, the Municipal Corporation administration will prepare patrol teams for intensive inspection in various ward areas to prevent industrial units from releasing polluted water into the Sabarmati river. Apart from this, the important issues on which decisions have been taken are as follows.
1. The names of industrial units releasing polluted water into the river will be announced on the Municipal Corporation website and social media.
2. Apart from the Deputy City Engineer, officers from the Town Planning Department, Central Laboratory, Environmental Engineer, Pollution Control Board and Police will be appointed in the task force.
3. In all industrial units, factory license, building use permission, health license, apart from private boring, how industrial water is disposed of and how many parameters are followed, etc. will be surveyed.
4. The Municipal Corporation will create a new portal, in which citizens will be able to upload information about wastewater release by a factory or other unit on the portal through e-mail.
5. Wastewater is being released illegally into the sewer line. Action will be taken after checking its route map.
6. Water and sewer connections of industrial units polluting the river will be cut off.
Sewage treatment plants owned by the Municipal Corporation are located in various areas of Ahmedabad city. After treating the water from all these plants, it is released into the Sabarmati river. The Municipal Commissioner has constituted four expert vigilance cells to check whether all the plants are discharging water as per the rules of National Green Tribunal and environment. These cells will inspect all STPs once a month and submit a report to the Municipal Commissioner.
Municipal Commissioner M. Thennarasan has decided to form a STP quality vigilance cell under the Deputy Municipal Commissioner (Vigilance). It has been decided to appoint four members – a mechanical-electrical engineer, a civil engineer and a laboratory representative – in this team besides an environmental engineer. The treated water of all sewage treatment plants will be tested as per the design of the sewage treatment plant and the norms and standards of National Green Tribunal. The environmental engineer working in the sewage treatment plant department will have to get the samples of water treated in the sewage treatment plant tested in various National Testing and Calibration Accreditation Board laboratories every week and submit his report to the Municipal Commissioner through the Deputy Municipal Commissioner (Water Resources Management).
