Compliance report by the Joint Committee of Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) of the order passed by the National Green Tribunal in the matter of Original Application No. 616/2019 (Ramdevbhai Samatbhai Sanjva Vs State of Gujarat & Others) related to pollution in river Bhadar due to discharges from textile units in Jetpur, Gujarat.

A Writ Petition was filed by Shri Ramdevbhai Samatbhai Sanjva before the Gujarat High Court on June 14, 2018 having Writ Petition (PIL) No. 114 of 2018 (Ramdevbhai Samatbhai Sanjva Vs. State of Gujarat & Ors.) alleging that dyeing and printing units in Jetpur Taluka were discharging pollutants having hazardous chemicals. The matter was transferred by the Gujarat High Court vide order May 9, 2019 to National Green Tribunal (NGT), Principal Bench, New Delhi with Original Application No. 616/2019.

The report said The Jetpur Dyeing and Printing Association (JDPA) has constructed 3 collection sumps outside the Bhadar river bed for collection of wastewater from member textile units through tankers. The textile units have started discharging the effluent mostly through tankers to these newly constructed collection sumps. However, the sewage from the Jetpur area and primary treated effluent from textile units located in the residential area of Jetpur is still being discharged in open C-channel and gets collected at the collection sumps located in the bed of the river. Therefore, the collection sumps and receiving wells in the bed of river Bhadar are not dismantled.

Once the 23.5 MLD capacity sewage treatment plant (STP) by Jetpur-Navagadh Nagarpalika becomes operational, discharge of effluent from textile units in the C-channel is likely to stop completely and there would not be any direct source of wastewater discharge to the river Bhadar in Jetpur area.

The treated wastewater from all 3 common effluent treatment plants (CETP) and one STP is being used for irrigation in the agricultural land. However, the quantity of the treated wastewater generated from all three CETPs and one STP is huge compared to the land available for irrigation.

The report recommended that the construction work of 23.5 MLD STP by Jetpur-Navagadh nagarpalika should be completed at the earliest and made operational so that the sewage from the entire Jetpur area is treated in this STP and thereby discharge of sewage in the C-channel could be stopped completely.

The GPCB and JDPA must ensure that industrial units dispose of their effluent only through tankers to the CETP of JDPA and no effluent is discharged in C-channel. The tankers carrying effluent from member industries to CETP should be enabled with GPS tracking system and the tracking history should be submitted to GPCB on regular basis. The JDPA should dismantle the existing C-channel, collection sump and pumping station located in the bed of river Bhadar and GPCB should monitor and ensure the same. Further, STP of JDPA which is presently treating the mix of sewage and effluent, should be converted to CETP for treating only the industrial effluent, once the STP being constructed by Jetpur-Navagadh Nagarpalika becomes operational and all sewage is diverted to the STP, the report uploaded to the NGT site November 23, 2020.