VIJAYWADA: A government order (GO) by Neerabh Kumar Prasad, Special Chief Secretary (environment, forests & science and technology) on Wednesday, August 5, said that the government has designated the Secretary, Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MA&UD) Department as the nodal authority for setting up Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) for 100% treatment of the polluted river stretches by March 31, 2021. The Godavari, the Krishna, the Tungabhadra, the Kundu and the Nagavali were found to be the five river stretches in Andhra Pradesh that have exceeded the standard limit of 3 mg / litre of biochemical oxygen demand.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), 351 river stretches were found to be polluted as they failed to meet the prescribed water quality standards.
Untreated sewage discharged into the rivers in Rajamahendravaram, Vijayawada, Tadepalli, Srikakulam, Kurnool and Nandyal is found to be the source of pollution. The generation of sewage is about 457 million liters a day (MLD) from these six municipalities / corporations, while current treatment capacity is only about 161 MLD, while that of STPs under construction is 54.2 MLD.
STPs with 242 MLD capacity are to be set up, and there is also a need for constructing sewer pipelines. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has prescribed that the STPs be set up in order to treat the polluted river stretches by the given date and monitoring is to be done at the State-level every fortnight.