NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Thursday expressed strong concern over the mixing of untreated industrial effluents with domestic sewage flowing into the Yamuna, calling the situation “extremely disturbing.”
A special bench of Justices Prathiba M. Singh and Manmeet P.S. Arora said most industries were dumping waste directly into drains without treatment, causing even treated water from STPs (sewage treatment plants) and CETPs (common effluent treatment plants) to get mixed with raw sewage. “This neutralises the entire purpose of treating wastewater,” the bench observed.
Hearing a suo motu PIL based on a report on city waterlogging, the court directed the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) to submit details of all industrial areas, including how many factories are connected to CETPs, and the monitoring steps taken. It also ordered DPCC to respond to findings by a special inspection committee that reported rampant illegal dumping of sewage into drains.
The court noted discrepancies between the Delhi government’s “satisfactory” performance claims on STPs and CETPs and reports by commissioners and experts highlighting underutilisation and the need for upgrades.
The bench stressed that a comprehensive drainage master plan is necessary, recalling that IIT Delhi had prepared one in 2018 which remains unimplemented. It said experts must review the plan to ensure sewage and stormwater drains run in parallel and connect to main drains only after treatment.
