The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has ordered an inquiry into waste disposal and management practices at the electroplating zone in Faridabad’s Sector 58 after a plea alleged that around 225 units were illegally discharging industrial effluents into open areas and drains.
The tribunal issued notices to 225 electroplating units and constituted a joint committee headed by deputy commissioner Ayush Sinha to investigate the allegations. The committee includes member secretaries of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB), and has been directed to submit an inspection and action taken report before the next hearing on August 24.
The petition, filed on May 9 by Ballabhgarh-based environmental activist Narender Sirohi, alleged that electroplating units were releasing effluents beyond the permitted treatment capacity of the common effluent treatment plant (CETP) in Sector 58, which has a capacity of 0.650 million litres per day (MLD). Sirohi also submitted an RTI response from the HSPCB confirming that no adequacy report was available for the operational CETP.
“Photographic evidence shows many of these units connected to the CETP instead discharge their effluents in open areas and natural sources through tankers, further contaminating the groundwater in sectors 58 to 67,” Sirohi said. He further cited a 2023 CPCB report which found the Sector 58 CETP non-compliant with HSPCB’s surface-water discharge standards — recording BOD levels of 78 mg/l against the prescribed limit of 30 mg/l, and a pH level of 6.29 against the prescribed range of 6.5 to 8.5.
During the first hearing on May 21, the NGT observed that the plea “raises substantial issues relating to compliance with the environmental norms” in Faridabad’s electroplating zone. Advocate Sanjaya Mishra, representing Sirohi, alleged that illegal disposal of untreated wastewater containing heavy metals had contributed to serious health issues and increasing cancer cases in Ballabhgarh’s Jhar Sentli and nearby villages. “The committee will look into the matter from all aspects. Its members are given eight weeks by the tribunal to submit an ATR,” Mishra said.
Harish Kumar, regional officer of HSPCB in Faridabad’s Ballabhgarh region, said the board would comply with the tribunal’s directions. “Even though our team had made frequent visits to the electroplating zones, the tribunal’s orders will be examined before taking any further action,” Kumar said.
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