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Judgment
Prathiba M. Singh, J. (Oral)
This hearing has been done through hybrid mode.
On the previous date of hearing i.e., on 5th May 2025, considering the serious allegations raised by the intervenor/environmentalist Mr. Pankaj Kumar in respect of a substantial portion of sewage by passing the STPs and entering the River Yamuna untreated, this Court vide order dated 5th May, 2025, had constituted a Special Committee to conduct onsite inspection of all the STPs. The mandate of the Committee in terms of the said order was as under:
“1.That the undersigned were appointed as a Special Committee (“Committee”) vide Order dated 05.05.2025 passed by this Hon'ble Court in the captioned matter to conduct on-site inspection at all the Sewage Treatment Plants (“STPs”) and to give a report as to: (i) “Whether the entire sewage/water which is flowing into the Yamuna River through the STPs is being treated or not before being released into the river;
(ii)Whether there are flow meters and sensors on all the outlets of the 35 STPs;
(iii)Whether the entire discharge which is going through the inlet is passing through the flow meters/online monitoring or is there any by-passing of the same
(iv)What is the function of the online monitoring system in supervising the treatment process in the STPs and whether it is effective.”
2.The Committee was further asked to specifically provide recommendations on
a)“Whether flow meters would be required even at the in-lets as well and whether the same is feasible?
b)Any other recommendations of the Special Committee to improve water/sewage treatment in the STP.”
Today, a final report, in respect of all the 37 STPs, has been filed by the Special Committee, primarily consisting of Ms. Vrinda Bhandari, Mr. Vivek Tandon as also Mr. Pankaj Kumar and Mr. Praveen Gupta. The said report has given a detailed analysis of all the STPs, their functioning, the various parameters of the STP tests, adherence thereto and the deficiencies, if any. A brief perusal of the report itself would show that there is an enormous quantum of work that needs to be undertaken in order to ensure that only treated water is discharged to the river Yamuna.
The agencies that need to look into the entire matter, including the Report of the Special Committee, are -
Delhi Jal Board (hereinafter ‘DJB’),
Municipal Corporation of Delhi (hereinafter ‘MCD’) as also
Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (hereinafter ‘DSIIDC’) and
Delhi Pollution Control Committee (hereinafter ‘DPCC’).
Accordingly, let the Committee’s report be circulated to all counsels appearing for the agencies, namely, DJB, MCD, DSIIDC and DPCC.
The contents of this report also show that a substantial amount of work has been undertaken by the Committee. There are various shortcomings that need to be addressed and certain further elaborate steps to be taken as well. In order to understand the steps that need to be taken by various agencies, it is deemed appropriate to direct members of the Special Committee to hold a meeting with all the above agencies on 7th August, 2025 at 4:00 PM in the office of Mr. Bhupesh Kumar, Chief Engineer, Sewage Disposal Works, DJB, Room no 609 Varunalaya Phase II New Delhi. The said meeting shall be attended by the relevant officials of DJB, MCD, DSIIDC as also the DPCC, as also any other authorities or agencies whose cooperation would be required. 6. After the said meeting, the officials may agree to hold further meetings in this regard, if necessary and finally, the DJB and MCD shall file their joint report and the action plan for addressing various shortcomings, deficiencies and improvements as pointed out by the Special Committee. Insofar as flow meters are concerned, Ms. Bhandari submits that most STPs have the flow meters, but the question as to whether these are working efficiently or not would be a doubtful question, on which aspect as well the DJB will deal with in its report.
The Court at this stage is informed that the fees of the Local Commissioners are not fully cleared, both in respect of STPs and CETPs. Considering the enormous efforts taken and valuable inputs given vide the final report, this Court is of the clear opinion that such delay in clearing the fee cannot be accepted. In view thereof, let the same be cleared by the DJB or DSIIDC or any other concerned authorities within a period of two weeks. 8. Ms. Bhandhari also submits that the final report, insofar as the CETPs are concerned, has not yet been filed. Let the same be filed and brought on record before the next date of hearing.
List on 11th September, 2025 at 2:30 PM.