STPs to be set up for treatment of polluted river stretches

The government has appointed the Secretary, Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MA&UD) Department, as the nodal authority for setting up Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) for 100% treatment of the polluted stretches in the Godavari, the Krishna, the Tungabhadra, the Kundu and the Nagavali by March 31, 2021, a G.O. issued by Special Chief Secretary (environment, forests and science and technology) Neerabh Kumar Prasad said on Wednesday.

It was stated that the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) had identified 351 river stretches as polluted for not meeting the prescribed water quality standards.

The five river stretches in A.P. were found to have exceeded the standard limit of 3 mg / litre of biochemical oxygen demand.

Reason for pollution

The reason for pollution is the discharge of untreated sewage into the rivers in Rajamahendravaram, Vijayawada, Tadepalli, Srikakulam, Kurnool and Nandyal. The sewage generation from these six municipalities / corporations is about 457 Million Litres per Day (MLD), whereas the existing treatment capacity is only 161 MLD and that of STPs under construction is 54.2 MLD.

STPs with 242 MLD capacity are to be set up, and there is also a need for constructing sewer pipelines. The National Green Tribunal has prescribed that the STPs be set up in order to treat the polluted river stretches by the given date. Monitoring is to be done at the State-level every fortnight.