Difficult to maintain 10 cumecs in Yamuna: Haryana to NGT

Haryana government today told the National Green Tribunal that maintaining a minimum flow of at least 10 cumecs of water at Hathnikund barrage in Yamuna as directed by it would be difficult during lean season but the Tribunal remained unconvinced.
"It would be difficult for Haryana to ensure availability of minimum environmental flow of 10 cumecs of water from Hathnikund barrage to Wazirabad here as the flow reduces to 3,500 cusec during the lean period," Haryana government told a bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar.
The green panel, however, reiterated that its June 22 order directing Haryana to release 10 cumecs water directly into river Yamuna from Hatnikhund barrage till Wazirabad (a stretch of 224 km) would continue to be in "full force".

The submissions came while monitoring implementation of the Tribunal's "Maily se Nirmal Yamuna Revitalisation Plan 2017" which is aimed at restoration of the river.
On the issue of Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) and Sewage Treatment Plants (STP), the Tribunal directed Haryana to identify adequacy of each CETP to handle the effluent load and submit a report within a week.
"Let the maps of the drainage network, location of CETP/STP, the distance between the last CETP/STP on the drain upto its confluence with river Yamuna and extent of industrial and residential area covered by each STP/CETP and even the proposed development in that area, be submitted to the Tribunal within one week from today," the bench said.

Haryana also told the bench that all the CETPs and STPs would be properly established by year 2017 and water would be recycled for minimum discharge into Yamuna which will not contain any pollutants.

During the hearing, Additional Chief Secretary, Irrigation and Additional Chief Secretary, Urban Local Bodies, Haryana government were also present.
The Tribunal had in January constituted a "Principal Committee" headed by Shashi Shekhar, secretary, ministry of water resources which will be responsible for implementation of the 'Maili se Nirmal Yamuna Revitalisation Project 2017'.
The committee consists of secretary of the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF), joint secretary of ministry of water resources, chief secretary of Delhi, vice-chairman DDA, commissioners of all corporations and the state secretaries of Haryana, UP, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.