Ghaziabad: Days after the UP govt informed the National Green Tribunal that 258 unauthorised colonies in Ghaziabad were discharging untreated sewage daily into the Hindon, district magistrate Ravindra Kumar Mandar on Friday directed officials to launch a coordinated drive to identify and remove encroachments along the river.The directions, issued at a meeting with officials from the Loni SDM’s office, irrigation department, GDA and municipal bodies, require teams to cross-reference revenue records, irrigation data and maps against ground conditions to pinpoint illegal occupations.In an affidavit, filed by state chief secretary Shashi Prakash Goyal on April 28, UP had told the NGT that 888 unauthorised colonies across six districts — 30% of them in Ghaziabad — discharge nearly 40 million litres of sewage daily into the Hindon. The affidavit was submitted in compliance with an NGT order dated Dec 9 last year.The affidavit also flagged 51 open storm drains in the basin carrying an estimated 1,067 MLD of water, sludge, industrial discharge and sewage into the river and its tributaries. It also said the colonies — which collectively house a population of over 3.8 lakh — are unauthorised, they lack planned drainage infrastructure and allowed most sewage flows into open or stormwater drains before reaching the river.At Friday’s meeting, Mandar reviewed the status of encroachments along the riverbanks and original riverbed land of both the Yamuna and Hindon.“Officials have been instructed to identify illegal occupations by matching revenue records, irrigation data and available maps with ground conditions. Effective action must be taken against illegal occupations on riverbed land in accordance with rules. No form of illegal construction or encroachment in river areas will be tolerated,” he said.Karhera, Ator-Nagla and Kanawani have consistently been identified by officials as among the most heavily encroached stretches of the Hindon floodplain in the district, but enforcement has so far been piecemeal. Any large-scale anti-encroachment drive along the riverbank awaits completion of floodplain demarcation.Mandar, meanwhile, also ordered a special campaign for environmental conservation and rejuvenation of the two rivers, calling them crucial to the region’s ecological balance. Officials have been directed to submit regular progress reports to the district administration.Clearing encroachments from river areas was among the govt’s priorities, DM said, adding that unimpeded river flow was essential to containing flood risk ahead of monsoon. “Obstruction to the natural flow of rivers increases the possibility of economic losses and danger to residents during monsoon-related disasters, making it necessary to remove encroachments on priority,” he added.
