Hindon revival: Civic body draws up 1,900 crore plan to tap seven drains

To clean up polluted river Hindon, the Ghaziabad municipal corporation has prepared a 1,904 crore plan which involves tapping nine drains that empty into the river and also for augmenting the capacity of the existing sewage treatment plants (STPs).

In Ghaziabad, the river spans a distance of 55km covers an area of 60.766 hectares. The nine drains that are to be tapped runt through Arthala, Karhera, Dasna, Meerut Road, Sahibabad, Jawli, Indirapuram, Pratap Vihar and Hindon Vihar before emptying into the river.

According to officials, the river receives about 351.04MLD (million litres per day) discharge, including 336MLD of sewage. According to the recently chalked out Hindon rejuvenation plan, the Ghaziabad district has eight untapped and one partially tapped drain emptying into the river.

These include five drains that carry mixed (industrial and residential discharge) and three that carry domestic discharge besides one exclusively carrying industrial discharge.

“A project for tapping Arthala and Karhera drains along with construction of an STP and laying of a sewage network has already been approved while another report for tapping seven other drains have been prepared. The entire project for seven drains and upgrade of STPs entail a cost of 1,904 crore, which is likely to be approved under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation Scheme (2.0),” said Nitin Gaur, municipal commissioner.

The 1,904 crore project involves six major components – 440.68 crore for interception and diversion of seven drains,648 crore scheme for 100% sewerage coverage of the municipal corporation area, 58.91 crore for upgrade of existing 56MLD STP in Indirapuram, 73.64 crore for upgrade of 70MLD STP at Dundahera, 550.13 crore for a sewerage scheme in Sahibabad and 133.11 crore for construction of 20MLD tertiary STP at Dundahera.

“We have tasked Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam to prepare the project reports and the plan will help curb the pollution of river Hindon in the coming years,” Gaur said.

According to Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB), river Hindon is in category E, or the category with the lowest quality of water. The water of rivers in this category is only fit for irrigation, industrial cooling and controlled waste disposal.

The official figures of the UPPCB, the river recorded an annual average of 0.71mg/litre (l), 0.70 mg/l, 0.52 mg/l and 0 mg/l presence of dissolved oxygen (DO) at sampling location at Karhera, Mohan Nagar, Chijarsi in Ghaziabad and Kulesra in Noida, respectively, in 2022.

A rage of about 5mg/l and above is fit for propagation of aquatic life.

“The aquatic life like fish, etc., was noticed in the river about 18-20 years ago and since then, it has become highly polluted and toxic due to discharge of effluents and sewage. The plan to tap the drains and its outcome should be continuously monitored by a panel of specialised agencies and no local agencies should be involved. In the past, the corporation has spent funds on small projects such as bioremediation, etc. and no fruitful results were achieved,” said Akash Vashishtha, a city-based environmentalist and lawyer.

Officials said the long-term plan to tap drains may take two or three years to complete once funding is approved.