Noida: The Supreme Court has directed the UP govt to remove encroachments from land earmarked for a sewage treatment plant in Khoda Colony to stop untreated wastewater from flowing into the Kondli drain.A bench of justices Manoj Misra and Manmohan issued the directions while hearing the matter on Feb 24 after the state govt filed an affidavit on the proposed project.According to the affidavit, Noida Authority has allotted 16,000 square metres of land to the Khoda-Makanpur Nagar Palika Parishad for setting up a 66 MLD (million litres per day) sewage treatment plant.However, the govt told the court that a dispute arose during the demarcation of the site after residents along one side of the plot demanded a road through the land. The district administration is trying to resolve the issue, it said, adding that construction of the STP will begin immediately once the dispute was settled. It added that the STP would be completed within 24 months thereafter.The court had earlier, on Dec 3 last year, asked the state to provide a clear timeline for building the plant. But the judges said the latest affidavit failed to specify this. “The affidavit filed is completely lacking on the aforesaid aspect. Moreover, it does not disclose why there is a claim for a road over land that has been earmarked and handed over for the STP,” the court observed.The bench directed the state govt to ensure the land was cleared of all encroachments so the project could be executed at the earliest. The court also asked environmentalist Abhist Kusum Gupta, who filed the petition over Kondli drain polluting Yamuna, to submit suggestions on measures to prevent wastewater from entering the river system.
