Tribunal mandates time-bound remediation of river pollution and solid waste management with monitoring oversight.

ORDER

1. This original application was registered on the basis of a letter petition by one of the residents of Udhampur raising the issue of illegal encroachment on the Bank of river Devika in District Udhampur, Jammu & Kashmir. It was alleged that on account of such encroachment, natural flow of the river and flora and fauna of the river of nearby area was adversely affected.

2. The Tribunal by order dated 28.04.2023 while entertaining the letter petition had formed a joint Committee with a direction to the joint Committee to visit the site, collect relevant information and submit a factual report.

3. The joint Committee had submitted the report dated 31.07.2023. The report of the joint Committee revealed that the river was heavily contaminated with sludge and silt at Devika Ghat and that the drains were carrying municipal solid waste and public waste which is deposited in the river and construction material and solid waste was also dumped along with the river bank. The joint Committee also noticed certain other violations as under:

“3.1. Factual Report by the Joint Committee:

The following are the key observations made by the Joint Committee during the site visit:

a) At Devika Ghat, the Devika River was found to be heavily contaminated with sludge and silt, leaving minimal space for natural water purification processes (Photograph 1 of Annexure-4)

b) The Joint Committee observed that all the monitored nallahs/drains carried municipal solid waste and plastic waste along with the flowing water, resulting in the deposition of these wastes into the river, clearly indicating the mismanagement of Municipal Solid Waste (Photograph 2-4 of Annexure-4)

c) Downstream of Devika River from Devika Ghat, various construction and solid waste materials were observed to be dumped along the riverbanks. During the rainy season, these materials may find their way into the river (Photograph 5-7 of Annexure-4).

d) The Devika Project comprises of three STPs (4MLD STP, 1.6 MLS STP and 8 MLD STP). The installation of 4 MLD STP and 1.6 MLD STP has been completed, and these STPs are currently undergoing commissioning trial runs in manual mode (Photograph 8 & 9 of Annexure-4). However, the sludge handling system (Centrifuges for sludge dewatering) and SCADA System & associated components for operating the STP in auto mode are yet to be installed in these STP.

e) It was also observed that the flow meters at the STP outlets and the Online Continuous Effluent Monitoring Systems (OCEMS) for real- time monitoring of prescribed parameters are yet to be installed.

f) The installation of an 8 MLD STP is still in progress (Photograph 10 of Annexure-4) The automated mode of operation for the STPs, utilizing a SCADA system, has yet to be implemented. It was informed by the representative of the UEED that the installation of STP will be completed by 15th July, 2023.

g) Devika River was surveyed at two locations, both upstream and downstream of the Dwarika Project, spanning from Gangera Hills to Nain Su. During the survey, no evidence of any pollution-related activities was observed at Gangera Hills, which serves as the source of the Devika River (Photograph 11 of Annexure-4). Similarly, no polluting activity was noticed at Nain Su, which is located downstream of the Devika Project (Photograph 12 of Annexure-4)

h) The representatives of project proponent informed that approximately 60% of the Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste produced during the execution of the Devika Project has been reused within the project for refilling purposes and the remaining 40% of the C&D waste is disposed of, by supplying to private land owners. During the visit