AI Structured Summary
Not yet generated for this judgment
Judgment
Arun Kumar Tyagi, JM
Mr. Radha Raman Dwivedi and other residents of Y-1 Block, Kidwai Nagar, Ward No.66, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh have sent the present letter petition, which is treated and registered as original application, complaining that at the time of establishment of COD in Kanpur, Kacha Drain 15-20 feet wide was carved out for discharge of rain water which join river Pandu after 10-12 kms. At that time, surrounding land was under cultivation and there were no residential settlements. Kanpur Administration prepared a plan for construction of 120 feet wide road adjoining the drain and sold plots on both sides of the drain giving assurance for construction of above said road but the above said road has not been constructed till date. Domestic sewage of colonies which came up on the surrounding land was connected in the drain. Subsequently, on transfer of the area to the Kanpur Municipal Corporation the width of the drain in the area was increased to 50-60 feet in the course of desilting of the drain with JCB due to which the trees on its embankments have fallen or are about to fall. The drain has become narrowed in the stretch from By-pass to river Pandu. The residents of the nearby colonies are discharging their domestic sewage in the drain due to there being no sewer line there. Some persons living in slum along the drain have also constructed latrines on the embankment of the drain and they are also discharging domestic sewage in the drain. Sewage in the drain has stagnated and is emitting foul smell which is posing serious health hazards to the residents of the locality.
Vide order dated 02.09.2022, this Tribunal took cognizance and constituted a Joint Committee comprising of representative of Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB), Commissioner-Municipal Corporation, Kanpur, Kanpur Development Authority and District Magistrate, Kanpur City and directed the same to submit its report within one month. The relevant part of the order reads as under:-
“3. Prima facie, the allegations made in the application raise questions relating to environment arising out of the implementation of the enactments specified in Schedule I to the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010. In view of the allegations made in the application, we consider it appropriate that a Joint Committee be constituted to verify the factual position. Accordingly, we constitute a Joint Committee comprising of representatives of State PCB, Commissioner, Municipal Corporation Kanpur, Kanpur Development Authority and District Magistrate Kanpur City and direct the same to meet within three weeks, undertake visits to the site, look into the grievances of the applicant, associate the applicant and other residents of the area, verify the factual position and submit its report within one month by e-mail at [email protected] preferably in the form of searchable PDF/OCR Supported PDF and not in the form of Image PDF. The State PCB will be the nodal agency for coordination and compliance.
In case the Joint Committee observes any violation of consent conditions/environmental norms then it shall forward a copy of its report to:-
(i) the Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Kanpur to enable him to comply with the recommendations in its report or file objections against the observations/recommendations in its report and file his response before this Tribunal as desired within one month from the date of receipt of a copy of the report of the Joint Committee; and
(ii) the State PCB and District Magistrate, Kanpur City to enable them to take appropriate remedial action including prosecution of the concerned officers of the Municipal Corporation, Kanpur by giving notice to/hearing the Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Kanpur and following due process of law in accordance with Statutory provisions mandating them to take remedial action for prevention, control and abatement of environmental pollution/degradation and protection and improvement of environment and submit their action taken report within one month from the date of receipt of a copy of the report of the Joint Committee...”
In compliance thereof, Joint Inspection report of the District Level Committee/Joint Committee has been submitted by Sh. Rajendra Singh, Chief Environmental Officer (Circle-2), UPPCB vide email dated 14.12.2022. Relevant part of the report (without the enclosed photographs) is reproduced as under:-
“JOINT INSPECTION REPORT OF DISTRICT ADMINISTRATION, KANPUR, NAGAR NIGAM KANPUR(KNN), KANPUR DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY AND UTTAR PRADESH POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD (UPPCB) OF COD DRAIN AT KANPUR NAGAR,UP IN COMPLIANCE TO HON'BLE NGT ORDER DATED 02.09.2022 IN THE MATTER OF Radha Raman Dwivedi& Ors. Vs STATE OF U.P. (ORIGINAL APPLICATION NO. 530/2022)
x x x x x x
JOINT INSPECTION OF THE COMMITTEE:
In compliance to the aforesaid orders dated 02.09.2022 of Hon'ble Tribunal, New Delhi, a Joint Committee comprising of following members has been constituted by Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (Nodal Agency) vide its Office Letter No. H81189/C-2/VidhiAnu./NGT No-274/22 dated 14.09.2022 and other department letter as Additional Municipal Commissioner- Kanpur Nagar Nigam by in letter no. D/950/Na.Aa./Pro.Cell/22-23, dated 25.11.2022; Secretary,
Kanpur Development Authority by letter No. 547/Sachiv/PA/KDA/2022-23, Dated 01.12.2022 and District Magistrate, Kanpur nominated dated 15.09.2022. Copy of the said office Letter's is appended as Annexure I.
1.
Mr. Ramanuj Adnl. City Magistrate 2 Representative District Administration Kanpur Nagar
Member
2.
Mr. Ram Kumar Tewari Executive Engineer, Zone -2 Nagar Nigam, Kanpur
Member
3.
Mr. DhirendraBajpai Executive Engineer,
Kanpur Development Authority
Member
4.
Mr. Amit Mishra Regional Officer Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board, Kanpur (Nodal Officer to UPPCB at District level, Kanpur)
Nodal Officer & Member
PRESENT CONDITION OF THE COD DRAIN:
Kanpur city is habituated between two rivers namely River Ganges on north and River Pandu on south. River Pandu which is a tributary of River Ganga. The Pandu River runs for around 80 kilometres and meets River Ganga at Fatehpur. The COD drain is fully Tapped and connected to the 210 MW Sewage Treatment Plant at Bingawan.
OBSERVATION BY THE COMMITTEE:
In compliance to said orders of the Hon'ble NGT dated 02.09.2022, a joint team of officials from KNN, KDA, UPPCB and District Administration, Kanpur visited the COD Nalla at Kanpur Nagar, UP & its surrounding areas on 07.12.2022. At the time of inspection, Petitioner Mr. Radha Raman Dwivedi residents of Y-1 Block, Kidwai Nagar, Ward No.66, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, was also present on the inspection site. The Petitioner also presented her case in writing before the members of the constituted committee. Copy of the letter is appended as Annexure II
The COD Nalla at Kanpur Nagar, UP and its surrounding area was inspected by the joint team & details are following:
REPORT OF THE NAGAR NIGAM KANPUR:
It is respectfully submitted that the Nagar Nigam Kanpur Department, who is one of the member of the Joint Committee, has submitted that the said COD Nala starts from Kidwai Nagar Highway, passing Pashupati NagarChandipurwa parallel to Kanpur-Sagar Highway and goes till Pandu River, which average width is 10 meters and length is about 6200 meters. By tapping the drain 300 meters before Pandu River, the drain water goes to 210 MLD Sewer Treatment Plant, Bingawan. Cleaning of the COD drain is done every year by the Nagar Nigam in a mechanized manner in the month of March to June with machines like Poklen etc. An estimate of more than 200 crores is possible for making Retaining wall and paving on both sides of the drain. Copy of the report is appended as Annexure III.
REPORT OF THE KANPUR DEVLOPMENT AUTHORITY
It is respectfully submitted that Kanpur Development Authority official that Kidwai Nagar Y One Block Yojana was handed over to Nagar Nigam Kanpur on 3rd September 2015. Copy of the record is appended as Annexure IV.
REPORT OF THE UTTAR PRADESH POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
It is respectfully submitted that the UPPCB Department, who is one of the member of the Joint Committee, and also nodal agency, has submitted that the said COD drain is an open and earthen drain, the width of this drain has been found to be irregular. From Kidwai Nagar to Naubasta, there are residential colonies and a road for traffic on both sides of this drain. Further it flows to left side of the Kanpur -Sagar highway, COD drain is connected to the 210 MW Sewage Treatment Plant at Bingawan by complete tapping at near Bingawan.
Status of COD Drain
Catchment
Name of Drain
Latitude/ Longitude
Length in Km
Tapped/ Untapped/ Partially Tapped
Flow
/ Standing
Average
Flowin NILD
Flow in
MLD At
visit
time
Connectto
STP in MLD
Kanpur
COD
N26.41599
6.20
Tapped
Flow
8.81
5.50
210
Drain
2, E
Bingaw
80.331587
an STP
During visit, geographical coordinates, photographs and other relevant information were also collected which are incorporated in the Report. The main observations of the team are given below:
· Laying of trunk sewer near COD drain has not being carried out. The residents of the residential houses located on both sides of the drain discharge their domestic sewage effluent directly into the drain by connecting it through hume pipe directly.
· Almost all Slum households located somewhere along drain having pit latrine/ no proper sanitation facility are directly connected to COD nala.
· The residents dispose the municipal solid waste directly into COD drain which has adverse impact on the environment/health and dirty conditions.
· The sewage flow in the COD drain has been found to be partially blocked due to silting and disposal of municipal solid waste by the residential settlements located around the drain.
The Joint team collected 02 Nos. of surface water sample from the COD drain. Lab analysis results are tabulated as below:
S.No
Parameters
Sampling Location
Detection Range
Open Domestic COD Drain near Yasoda Nagar
Tapped COD Drain Before connecting 210
MLD STP
Bingawan
1
pH
7.98
7.84
02-12
2
TSS (mg/I)
56
72
5.0-10000 mg/1
3
Total Coliform (MPN/100 ml)
170000
120000
<1.8 MPN/100 ml & above
4
Fecal Coliform (MPN/100 ml)
110000
70000
<1.8 MPN/100 ml & above
5
BOD (mg/I)
36
60
1.0-1000 mg/1
6
COD (mg/I)
90
170
4.0-1000 mg/I
· All values in mg/I except pH. The Lab Analysis report is annexed at annexure-V.
CONCLUSIONS:
· Regular Floating Garbage Arrester and silt cleaning / drain dredging by adopting suitable methodology, depending location and condition of COD drain.
· In densely populated areas, COD drain need to be replaced by RCC conduit pipes or construct Retaining wall and paving on both sides of the drain for the purpose of security, hygiene and pollution control.
· Proper solid waste disposal system is required otherwise this will find its way into COD drain, especially in rainy season.”
·
In view of the averments made in the application and observations made in the report, we considered it appropriate to have response from (1) the State of Uttar Pradesh (U.P.), through the Chief Secretary, Government of U.P.; (2) the Principal Secretary, Urban Development Department, Government of U.P.; (3) the Member Secretary, UPPCB; (4) the Commissioner-Municipal Corporation, Kanpur; (5) the Director General-National Mission for Clean Ganga(NMCG) and (6) the District Magistrate, Kanpur City, who were impleaded as respondents No. 1 to 6. Since respondent no. 3 was already appearing before this Tribunal, notices were ordered to be issued to respondents no. 1, 2 and 4 to 6.
Pursuant thereto replies/responses have been filed by UPPCB vide email dated 30.01.2023 and Municipal Corporation, Kanpur vide emails dated 21.04.2023.
Vide order dated 12.07.2023, respondents were directed to ensure compliance of MSW Rules, 2016 and also that their shall not be any discharge of untreated water into the open land and water body and this Tribunal also emphasized that like other storm water drains, COD nala be maintained to drain-out storm water for this purpose, both sides of drains are free from encroachments and no sewage and solid waste dumped into drain.
In compliance thereof reply/response has been filed by respondent no. 4 vide email dated 29.09.2023.
Applicant has also filed written submissions vide email dated 20.09.2023.
We have heard the applicant and learned Counsel for the respondents and gone through the material on record carefully.
Kanpur city is habituated between two rivers namely River Ganges on north and River Pandu on south. River Pandu which is a tributary of River Ganga. The Pandu River runs for around 80 kilometres and meets River Ganga at Fatehpur. COD Nala in question starts from Kidwai Nagar Highway, passing Pashupati Nagar Chandipurwa parallel to Kanpur-Sagar Highway and goes till Pandu River, which average width is 10 meters and length is about 6200 meters.
In its report, the Joint Committee made the following observations and recorded the following conclusions:-
Observations
· “Laying of trunk sewer near COD drain has not being carried out. The residents of the residential houses located on both sides of the drain discharge their domestic sewage effluent directly into the drain by connecting it through hume pipe directly.
· Almost all Slum households located somewhere along drain having pit latrine/ no proper sanitation facility are directly connected to COD nala.
· The residents dispose the municipal solid waste directly into COD drain which has adverse impact on the environment/health and dirty conditions.
· The sewage flow in the COD drain has been found to be partially blocked due to silting and disposal of municipal solid waste by the residential settlements located around the drain.”
Conclusions
· “Regular Floating Garbage Arrester and silt cleaning / drain dredging by adopting suitable methodology, depending location and condition of COD drain.
· In densely populated areas, COD drain need to be replaced by RCC conduit pipes or construct Retaining wall and paving on both sides of the drain for the purpose of security, hygiene and pollution control.
· Proper solid waste disposal system is required otherwise this will find its way into COD drain, especially in rainy season.”
In its response UPPCB has mentioned that in order to bring out the solution of the problem, District Magistrate, Kanpur Nagar held a meeting on 23.01.2023 with all stakeholders and asked all the concerned department like Kanpur Development Authority, ADM (F/R), UP Jal Nigam (rural) and Kanpur Nagar Nigam to produce all the relevant records to him. In its response UPPCB has made the following recommendations
“.....Regular cleaning of COD nala should be done for smooth flow of sewage upto Bingawan STP.
All the unauthorized sewer connections joining the COD nala should be converted into authorized connections.
There should also be proper municipal solid waste collection system in that area, so that this waste does not find its entry into nala.”
Respondent no. 4-Municipal Corporation, Kanpur has filed its replies/responses vide emails dated 31.04.2023 and 29.09.2023. In replies/responses of the respondent no. 4 following submissions have been made:-
(i) Work related to only water supply & sewerage related to YI block Kidwai Nagar has been handed over to Nagar Nigam by Kanpur Devclopment Authority on 3.9.2015. All other development works of the area remain under jurisdiction of the Development Authority.
(ii) The COD drain has been tapped about 300 meters before Pandu River in to 210 MLD Sewer Treatment Plant, Bingawan, Kanpur under Namami Gange Project and thus no untreated drain water is going in to River Pandu.
(iii) There are about 2000/2500 households in the congested catchment area of the COD drain whose municipal solid waste is being collected from door to door on daily basis by MSW operator M/S JTN Services Pvt Ltd. MSW from about 450 houses and commercial establishment on both side of COD drain is being collected and being dispose of as per MSW rules.
(iv) Residents found throwing MSW directly in to the drain are being challaned from time to time. 05 Number of challans have been made during Jan 2023. They are also being encouraged to pay prescribed user charges and avail facility of door to door MSW collection by authorised operator.
(v) Residents are also being educated through public announcements in the area to desist from throwing MSW directly in to COD drain.
(vi) Floating material arrester devices have been installed in the drain at location near highway to remove floating material from the drain to prevent choking of drain at narrow stretch. Bar screens have already been installed in all the 18 sub-drains of COD drains to arrest floating material from entering in to COD drain.
(vii) Coarse screens have been installed at suitable locations in sub drains of COD drain to prevent entry of solid- waste in to COD drain.
(viii) 20 unauthorized latrines constructed by some residents from which sewage was being discharged directly in to COD drain, have been made totally unusable.
(ix) Work of laying about 325 mtr sewer line in Y1 block of Kidwai Nagar slum area has been completed to carry sewage in to Bingawan STP through existing sewerage network to prevent its discharge directly in to the drain.
(xi) Work of desilting of Trunk sewer line has also been carried out and completed for smooth flow of sewage to the STP.
(xii) There is no sewerage network in Yashoda Nagar Area. UP Jal Nigam has included the said work in its proposal under AMRUT 2 project namely "Sewerage Works in Sewerage District. II, Part E of Kanpur Nagar Nigam". The Proposal has been cleared by SLTC on 16.3.2023 and further awaits approval from SHPSC.
(xiii) The houses in slum area near Y block have been connected to 325 m sewer line which discharges sewage in to Bingawan STP through Virat Nagar sump well. 30 number manholes on the sewer have also been cleaned/ desilted.
(xiv) The COD drain is also desilted every year before onset of monsoon. In addition, desilting work of the congested 86 heavily silted portions of the drain have been carried-out and completed for ensuring smooth flow and hygienic conditions in the drain. Due care is being taken to ensure that no harm is caused to the trees along the drain due to said works.
(xiv) Obstruction in the flow of water in the drain had been caused due to construction work being undertaken by Kanpur Metro Authorities. Said authority has removed the obstruction/ material ensure that no obstruction is caused to the flow in the drain.
(xv) View cutter have been installed in about 100 m distance along the drain from Highway to White House culvert to prevent any throwing of MSW in to drain as the stretch is easily approachable and vulnerable to garbage throwing in to the drain.
(xvi)The drain is being regularly cleaned/ desilted throughout the year (Except during rainy period) and a dedicated Pockland Machine has been deputed for this purpose on the drain. Apart from it, as per requirement from time to time, manual labour is also pressed in to service for the said job.
It is evident from the replies/responses filed by respondent no. 1-Muncipal Corporation, Kanpur appropriate remedial measures have been taken by it for redressal of the grievances of the applicants.
So far as the grievance of the applicants regarding non-fulfillment of assurance given by Kanpur Development Authority regarding making the drain pucca and construction of 120 feet wide road is concerned, in its response UPPCB has submitted that Executive Engineer, Zone II, Municipal Corporation, Kanpur has informed that the estimated cost for construction of retaining wall on both side of COD drains is about 200 crores. UPPCB has further submitted that if the Kanpur Development Authority has given assurance while allotting the plots to the concerning residents, to construct pucca covered nala, then they should convert that stretch of earthen COD nala to pucca covered nala with road for security, hygiene and pollution control for the residents. In its replies/responses, respondent no 4- Municipal Corporation Kanpur has submitted that the 6.2 km long COD drain is a unlined kuccha drain and that in view of large expenditure involved in lining the drain to convert it in to pucca drain, Govt. of U.P. has been requested to include said work in AMRUT/ Namami Gange/ Urban Development project work.
The issue of coverage of storm water drains adversely affecting environment came up for consideration before this Tribunal in number of cases. In O.A No. 66/2019 (WZ) titled as Kumar City Residents Co-operative Housing Society Ltd vs Kumar Urban Development Pvt. Ltd. & Ors. this Tribunal noticed such orders. In that case this Tribunal observed as under:-
“161…….In fact, issue relating to storm water drain has been considered by Tribunal in OA 454/2018 Sh. Subhash Gupta vs. Ministry of Environment and Forest. Therein the issue of coverage of storm water drains in Gurgaon adversely affecting environment came up for consideration before Tribunal, and in the judgment dated 23.07.2018, Tribunal referred to its observations made in OA 300/2013, Manoj Misra vs. UoI & Ors. decided on 13.01.2015, as under:
“...well protected and conserved drainage architecture (natural as well as manmade) in any city is an essential part of its efficient environmental and social planning and management. Open to sky storm water drains that ensure easy collection and draining away of rainfall water serves a number of purpose, in addition to ensuring that the potential flooding of areas in a city is prevented. These include: a) Serve as ground water recharge channels; b) Serve as greenways, when these are properly managed; c) Providing much needed open stretches in cities which are otherwise turning into concrete jungles and heat sinks; d) Ensure that the water that flows in these drains is well oxygenated and hence wholesome before it finally drains into a river, sea or a lake; e) Help clean naturally the waste water if any that flows in these drains; f) Maintain biodiversity and habitat conditions for a variety of plants and animals including small mammals, reptiles, birds, butterflies, etc.; g) Act as NMT (non motorized transport) channels; h) Help maintain/increase value of property lying close to these channels in cities where widespread concretization has turned an urban area/ city into a heat sink and where open spaces are available only at a premium.”
Tribunal also referred to a report of Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi titled as “Drainage Master Plan for NCT of Delhi” stating that if a drain is covered, de-silting will be adversely affected. No sewage should be put in the storm drain nor solid waste and C&D waste should be allowed in such drains and also no sewage and solid waste. Report said that storm drains should be treated as key public assets and no encroachment should be allowed.
The above judgment in Manoj Misra (supra) was in respect of River Yamuna and sources of pollution of the said river. Tribunal issued directions and in para 94 xxii. Said:
“94. xxii. There shall be no construction and/or coverage of any of the drains in Delhi by any Authority or Municipal Corporation. All the drains shall be kept obstruction free by the concerned Corporation. Where substantial work (more than 85%) has been completed, such work is permitted to be completed by the Corporation after obtaining specific orders from the Tribunal in that regard. Rest of the work, where construction has just begun, the construction, including iron material, shall be removed. While completing such remnant work, Corporation shall ensure that the cross section of the drains to carry the requisite storm water for the flood of once in 25 years and other effluents, are not compromised. Such construction and /or removal shall be carried on in terms of paragraph no. 61 of this judgment.”
The above directions which were issued in respect of NCR Delhi were extended to State of Haryana particularly, Gurgaon directing Statutory Regulators to take steps so that storm water drains are not covered but are de-silted and kept clean. The reasons given in the above judgment against concretization and covering of storm water drains, are equally applicable in the present case also. The suggestion of Learned Counsel is that covering of drain by covering slab, was long back, therefore, it is beyond limitation but we are of the view that it is not the act of covering of drain but degradation and damage to environment, by not permitting perforation of storm water through natural drain into ground so as to serve as a source for ground water and also continuous preventing de-silting etc. due to concrete cover. It is a continuous and recurring cause of action and causing damage to environment every day. It has to be restored to its original chain. PPs cannot be allowed to treat natural storm water drain as their personal or private property so as to change/deviate/modify in the manner, they like. No authority is competent to do so as degradation and damage to environment even by Statutory Authority is impermissible. It is a serious and severe violation on the part of PPs.”
In O.A. No. 300/2013 titled as Manoj Misra vs. UoI & Ors., O.A. No. 454/2018 titled as Sh. Subhash Gupta vs. Ministry of Environment and Forest and O.A No. 66/2019 (WZ) titled as Kumar City Residents Co-operative Housing Society Ltd vs Kumar Urban Development Pvt. Ltd. & Ors. the Tribunal considered that covering of drains has adverse environmental impact and the same adversely affects groundwater recharge and desilting of the drains.
The observations against concretization and covering of storm water drains, are equally applicable in the present case also and it will be appropriate that COD drain is also not concretized and covered since concretization and covering of the drain will adversely affect recharge of groundwater, obstruct desilting of the COD drain and will also have negative environmental impact due to generation of methane and preventing oxygenation. Further, COD drain may be exclusively maintained/restored as storm water drain and the same is not to be used as open sewer to carry sewage. It should be ensured that no sewage is discharged to COD drain and the same be periodically monitored for fecal-coliform to ensure that COD drain is hygienically maintained. In order to prevent falling of trees on both the sides of the COD drain during desilting/cleaning operations, the same may be appropriately lined/strengthened with sand and appropriate plantation may be raised on both the sides including slopes of the bunds to prevent soil erosion.
In view of the above discussed facts and circumstances, we are of the considered view that no further intervention by this Tribunal with respect to the remedial measures is required on the present is application and the same is disposed of accordingly with directions as mentioned above.