Chromium pollution in UP's Kanpur Dehat needs to be addressed urgently Report to NGT

New Delhi, Dec 2 (PTI) The National Green Tribunal has been informed that Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur Dehat and Fatehpur districts were facing active chromium pollution of the soil and groundwater, which needed to be addressed immediately.
    The green body had earlier sought a report from the amicus curiae (friend of the court). It was hearing the issue of the failure of the authorities concerned to scientifically handle and dispose of chromium dumps at Rania in Kanpur Dehat and Rakhi Mandi in Kanpur Nagar.
    The tribunal also clubbed together the issue of continuing water pollution by tanneries discharging industrial effluents containing toxic chromium into irrigation canals through improperly functioning Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs) in Kanpur Nagar’s Jajmau and discharge of chromium into groundwater by industries in Fatehpur district’s Godhrauli village.
    In an interim report dated November 26, amicus curiae Katyayni said she along with officials of the Central Pollution Control Board, Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board, UP Jal Nigam, and the chief minister’s office visited over 19 locations across the Kanpur Dehat, Kanpur Nagar and Fatehpur districts.
    "Each of the three districts has its own unique set of issues. For example, Kanpur Nagar had non-operational sewage treatment plants (STPs), while Kanpur Dehat and Fatehpur had none at all.
    "Similar to this, there was an urgent problem in Kanpur Dehat and Fatehpur with active chromium pollution of the soil and groundwater that needed to be addressed right away," the report said.
     According to the report, the three districts faced several other common environmental issues such as the dumping of solid and plastic waste, choked drains, constructions on sites hazardously contaminated by chemicals, lack of clean drinking water, and the need for better medical infrastructure to address the health concerns of the residents.
    The report recommended several urgent steps, such as mapping and identification of heavy metals (chromium and ash) contaminated sites across the three districts.
    It said, "People of affected areas must be provided with adequate water for life sustenance (which must include other than just drinking water) and sampling of soil, groundwater and surface water of contaminated areas and formulation of a time-bound action plan."
    The report also said that a temporary action plan must be pursued to stop pollution of the Ganga and Pandu rivers, keeping in mind the upcoming Mahakumbh being organised at Prayagraj.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)