The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has asked the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to issue directions under Section 18 (1) (b) of the Water Prevention and Control of Pollution Act, 1974 to Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board, following the drowning of two children in a pond with industrial effluents and domestic sewage at Village Saeedpur, Dharuhera, in April 2017. Under the Act, CPCB has directed Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board (RSPCB) to ensure:
- Proper collection, treatment and disposal of effluents and sewage at Bhiwadi Industrial area, including the surrounding villages;
- That Bhiwadi Municipal Council (BMC), Rajasthan State Industrial Development & Investment Corporation (RIICO) and Rajasthan Housing Board (RHB) submit time-bound action plans individually/jointly for setting up of sewerage system for proper collection, treatment and disposal of sewage and industrial effluents generated at Bhiwadi and the villages in its vicinity to RSPCB by August 31, 2017.
- That RSPCB will examine the action plans submitted at its level and get them modified, if required, by September 15, 2017;
- That RSPCB will forward the action plans to CPCB by September 29, 2017;
- That the effluents from existing cesspools created due to indiscriminate disposal of untreated/partially treated effluents and sewage will be pumped to the newly-created Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) and existing CETP for treatment and such pits shall be kept dry;
- CPCB, in turn, will examine the said action plans and will forward the action plans to the Ministry by October 16, 2017, so that facilities are in place by January 31, 2018;
- That CPCB will monitor the implementation of the said action plans and submit a monthly progress report, starting from November 30, 2017 till March 31, 2018.
The Union Government, through the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, is providing funds to urban local bodies for proper collection, treatment and disposal of sewage under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) through concerned State Governments Including Government of Rajasthan, in the instance case.
