National Green Tribunal points out gaps in Uttar Pradesh govt report on STPs, sewage waste management
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has raised serious objections to the Uttar Pradesh government's report on the status of Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) and Sewage Waste Management (SWM) submitted to the tribunal.
Directing the government to fill the gaps, a three-member bench of NGT comprising chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava, Justice Sudhir Agarwal and expert member A. Senthil Vel passed the order on May 26.
The tribunal also handed over a prescribed format to the state government in which details have to be submitted before the next hearing on July 28.
'Report dated 16.04.2025 filed on 24.5.2025 disclosing the status of solid and liquid waste management does not point out gaps plugged thereby not complying with SWM Rules, Water Act and order of the Supreme Court,' the tribunal said.
Anomalies pointed out by tribunal
Against disclosure of 95% waste processing facilities (19,014 TDP or tons per day), the quantity of segregated waste is 74% (14,884 TPD). This anomaly needs to be clarified. No clarification was given on the operation of waste processing plants without authorisation under the SWM Rules. The report discloses figures of waste generation in 762 local bodies, but does not reveal the actual waste processed by urban local bodies. The report says there has been 100% remediation of legacy waste at 60 sites but no material has been placed on record in support of this claim. Figures disclosed indicate 60 sites remediated and only 26 sites are left with legacy waste. Since, in other ULBs, waste processing facilities do not exist, specific disclosure of legacy waste in such ULBs should be pointed out. No disclosure has been made on the operational status of waste-to-energy plants.
Legacy waste
Legacy waste refers to accumulated solid waste that has been improperly collected and stored for an extended period, often in landfills or dumpsites. It is essentially a backlog of waste that was not managed effectively and has created a significant environmental problem.
Sewage management
In view of sewage generation of 5,500 MLD (million litres per day) and installed treatment capacity of 4,651 MLD (but treating only 3,122 MLD), the gap in treatment comes to 2,378 MLD. Untreated sewage is being discharged into the environment, which is evidenced by the disclosure that only 21.08 lakh households (HH) are connected to the sewerage system out of 52.17 lakh houses in 17 municipal corporations.
STPs have been designed in excessive capacities compared to sewage generation in Agra, Bijnor, Anupshahar, Chirakoot Karwi, Pilkhuva, Kannauj, Bela, Pratapgarh and other cities. But many urban local bodies do not have STPs, including Bahraich, Banda, Deoria, Fatehpur, Gonda, Hathras, Sambhal and Bhadohi.
THE CASE
In 2018, the Supreme Court in the 'Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti & Anr. vs. Union of India & Ors' case issued key directions regarding environmental protection, particularly river pollution and industrial waste treatment. The top court made it compulsory for industries to install and maintain functional primary effluent treatment plants (PETPs) within a specific timeframe. SC directed the municipalities to operate existing STPs and established timelines for setting up of common effluent treatment plants (CETPs) and STPs. The apex court also emphasized on the responsibility of municipalities to ensure public health, sanitation, and solid waste management. The Supreme Court permitted Uttar Pradesh to approach NGT with an application regarding the feasibility of the time lines set by the top court. The NGT was tasked with monitoring compliance with the Supreme Court's directions.
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