NHRC notice to Centre, Delhi govt, CPCB over groundwater contamination

New Delhi: National Human Rights Commission issued notices to the Centre, Delhi government and the Central Pollution Control Board over reports of groundwater getting “contaminated dangerously” near landfill sites in the national capital.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the NHRC said it has taken suo motu cognisance of a media report that “groundwater is getting contaminated dangerously near the landfill sites at Bhalswa, Ghazipur and Okhla and the engineered sanitary landfill at Bawana in Delhi”.

Considering the issue as a major threat to health and the environment, the NHRC said it issued notices to the secretary of the Union Jal Shakti Ministry, chief secretary of the Delhi government and the chairman of the Central Pollution Control Board, and sought detailed reports in six weeks.

They should include the steps being taken or proposed to be taken to deal with the problem, the statement said.

According to the media report carried on 9 May, the Delhi Pollution Control Committee had collected samples from several places near each landfill site in 2021 and found them to be “highly contaminated far beyond the desirable limit”.

“Experts have reportedly opined that the consumption of water with a high TDS level for longer periods could be harmful for human health. Reportedly, the primary source of contamination in the groundwater is un-segregated waste being dumped at the landfill sites, where the waste is reportedly leaching into the soil,” it added.

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