Noida, Delhi spar over waste dumped in Shahdara drain

Noida: Sewage waste dumped by nearly 6,000 shanties into Shahdara drain has become a bone of contention between Noida Authority and the Delhi government’s irrigation and flood control department (IFCD). The Authority has said that it cannot tackle the problem as the area, which includes sectors 15, 16, 17, 18, 52, Salarpur, Barola (near sector 49) and Ghijhod (near sector 53), is under IFCD’s jurisdiction.
Waste is being dumped by the shanties into the drain in the absence of any sewage pipeline, whose construction is subject to approval from both the Delhi and UP governments.
Noida Authority OSD Rajesh Kumar Singh told TOI that sanction for a sewage line has to come from IFCD. “We cannot construct a sewage line as we do not have jurisdiction over the drain, which comes under IFCD. For any solution, an agreement with them is a must,” he said.
Manish Agarwal, executive engineer, IFCD, said the shanties are unauthorised. “We’ve written many letters to Noida Authority to remove these jhuggis as law and order comes under it. But nothing has happened so far. In the meantime they (the shanties) have grown in scale,” he said. Agarwal said if the matter was taken to senior officials from both the governments for redressal, a viable solution can be arrived at.