Delhi: Drone survey to find pollution sources in industrial areas

NEW DELHI: The Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd. (DSIIDC) will start a drone survey in a bid to identify dumping of waste, industrial effluent and hazardous waste in drains and water bodies through drains.
“This will help supplement the efforts being made through physical inspections. After pilot trials in two industrial areas, decision to extend this methodology to other industrial areas will be taken,” the minutes of a meeting of the National Green Tribunal-appointed monitoring committee to clean up Yamuna stated.
The meeting was held with senior officials of DSIIDC, Central Pollution Control Board and Delhi Pollution Control Committee.
DSIIDC has already started a survey with DPCC to identify industries that are not connected to one of the 13 common effluent treatment plants operating in the city. Once the survey is completed, action will be taken against defaulting industries.
Out of 28 industrial clusters in the city, 17 are linked to the 13 CETPs. “The remaining 11 are not served by any CETPs and the survey will help identify whether the industrial units in these 11 estates are discharging any significant industrial effluent, including any hazardous ones, so that necessary action can be planned and implemented,” the minutes state.
The discharge of completely unregulated waste from industries and residences into the river is polluting the toxic Yamuna further. “The industrial pollutants when mixed with domestic sewage are not amendable to treatment even by the STPs due to limitation of treatment technology,” the monitoring committee had earlier said, adding that the 22 kilometre stretch from Wazirabad to Okhla, which is less than 2% of the river length of 1,370 kilometres from Yamunotri to Allahabad, accounts for about 76% of the pollution level in the river.