Pour sewage waste into Ganga and your hotel or dharamshala stands on the verge of getting seized. There are nearly 600 hotels in the twin cities of Haridwar and Rishikesh with good occupancy of 20 rooms and above. Not all have taken consent from the Pollution Control Board. They are now facing the threat from the National Green Tribunal of getting closed down. last year, Uttarakhand Environment Protection Control Board had told the NGT(National Green Tribunal) of its decision to close down 12 hotels of which three were sealed and closed while others still remain to comply with the regulatory requirement.
Now, the tribunal has again issued directions to the board to take action against them by disconnecting their electricity within a week. NGT states that if they have more than 20 rooms, the hotels or inns must have their own sewage treatment plants (STP). Though the district administration has shown willingness to implement the same, the local hoteliers and dharmshala owners are calling it practically impossible to make STP for every hotel. Only time will tell how far the orders will be implemented, say the observers.
Out of 400 hotels and 300 inns, 250 hotels have more than 20 rooms. Besides, as many as 300 dharamshalas have 20 rooms which are located on the river banks. They are discharging the sewage waste into the drains which pour in Ganga after being routed through sewage treatment plant at Jagjeetpur. But the harsh reality is that most of the times, the plant is shut due to power failure or maintenance problem. It had capacity of treating 45 MlDs per day which is half the quantum of waste generated.
Speaking to The Pioneer, president of Hotel Association of Haridwar Ashutosh Sharma said, “Most of the hotels in city area are built on narrow lanes. Practically, it is not possible to implement this order. We are advocates of clean Ganga but this is our genuine problem which must be considered. As the district administration has not put our stand before the authorities we would clarify through dialogue with them.”
The district magistrate Harbans Singh Chugh said that the district officials would extend full support in the implementation of NGT orders.