Panipat, July 25In the absence of a proper sewer system, residents of the NFL Employees’ Co-operative House Building Society have been left with no option but to dump their wastewater in the green belt along the NH-1 near the toll plaza.
The green belt has turned into a stinking pond and even the plantation here has been ruined due to the accumulating wastewater. Even as the locals continue to suffer, various government departments, including the HUDA, state Pollution Control Board and the Co-operatives Department, are busy blaming each other for the lapse.
According to the executive engineer of HUDA, during an inspection conducted recently, it was found that the society had been disposing the wastewater in the green belt area due to blockage of the HUDA sewer line.
In reply to an RTI query, the HUDA stated that the blocked sewer could not be rectified in spite of all efforts and thus steps were being taken for re-laying the sewerage system in this area for which the work had been initiated.
The HUDA also said the NFL society had been issued notices to stop disposing wastewater in the green belt. The society had been advised to dispose of the sewage on the other side of Phase II. The HUDA said the issue related to the executive engineer, horticulture division, of HUDA.
The state Pollution Control Board in reply to another RTI query stated that the society had been connected to a sewer of Sector 13-17 of HUDA. Therefore, the responsibility of proper disposal of effluents was that of HUDA. The board said it had issued notices to the executive engineer, HUDA, to install sewer system for all residential and industrial sectors to control water pollution. The board also said it had also collected samples of the water being dumped in the green belt and sent those to its laboratory for testing. The registrar of co-operative societies stated that they had not received any complaint from anybody in this regard and thus no action could be initiated against the society.
RTI activist Rajinder Rathee, who had sought the information using the RTI Act, said he had also asked the Health Department about what sort of health problems could an open disposal of sewage cause and why no action had been initiated to check this problem. The department had so far not given any reply though two and a half months had passed.
He said it was the lackadaisical attitude of the authorities concerned that the locals continue to suffer as no corrective measures were being initiated to resolve the issue.
No comments:
Post a Comment