In Palwal, more than 50% of STPs don’t adhere to the guidelines

Most of the district’s sewage treatment facilities (STPs) don’t operate at the required level. The district has a functioning sewage treatment capacity of just 27 minimum liquid discharges (MLD).

Four STPs run by the Public Health Engineering Department (PHED)—Palwal, Hodal, Hathin, and Hasanpur—are reportedly non-compliant, according to a study by the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB). Only three STPs in Palwal have met the requirements to become compliant: Kithwari-Agwanpur village (10 MLD capacity), Jodhpur road (15 MLD capacity), and Ferozpur village (2.5 MLD STP capacity). The report that was turned in last month states that while the district’s STPs had a combined capacity of 53 MLD, only 27 MLD of those STPs are now in compliance. It has been discovered that, in Palwal city, the installed capacity is 36.5 MLD, while the used capacity is just 9 MLD.

The high biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) of the treated water has made the STPs non-compliant. According to reports, the BOD was 30, which is three times more than the HSPCB-fixed threshold of ten. By measuring the quantity of oxygen needed for aerobic bacteria—which can only thrive in an oxygen-rich environment—to break down organic waste materials in water, the BOD indicates how much oxygen is needed.

After the Urban Local Bodies Department brought a 15 MLD STP online in May 2023, the 9 MLD STP at Palwal was closed. In contrast to the 2007 establishment of the STP in Palwal city (9 MLD), the STPs in Hodal, Hathin, and Hasanpur became operational in 2013, 2015, and 2016, respectively.

A local named Kulvir Chauhan said that “poor sewage treatment infrastructure has resulted in pollution in many areas.” The Palwal Industries Association’s Rajiv Mehra said that the Prithla area, which is home to over 200 industrial facilities, needed an advanced STP and sewage network. To get water for their industrial facilities and to dispose of their untreated waste, the enterprises must employ tankers. He said that the urgent need was for basic civic facilities such motorized highways, a sewage system, water supplies, and a common effluent treatment plant (CETP).

Superintending Engineer Shrikishan Dahiya of PHED, Palwal, said that while the STPs were operational, their classification as non-complying stemmed from their elevated BOD levels. He said that an estimated Rs 16 crore will be spent upgrading the STPs at Hodal, Hathin, and Hasanpur, and that they should be operational in a year.

less capacity was used than installed.

The present capacity of the compliant STPs is just 27 MLD, despite the district’s STPs having a combined capacity of 53 MLD, according to a report given by the Haryana State Pollution Control Board last month. It has been discovered that, in Palwal city, the installed capacity is 36.5 MLD, while the used capacity is just 9 MLD.