New Delhi: The Principal Bench of the National Green Tribunal has ordered the Delhi Pollution Control Committee to expedite the recovery of Rs 10 lakh from the sewage treatment plant in Kondli for non-compliance.
In an order released on 18 August, and passed on 14 August, the NGT also said that the authorities should continue monitoring the Kondli STPs — which are a cluster of four, phased STPs in East Delhi — to ensure they comply with environmental norms, don’t release untreated wastewater toward residential areas, and don’t inconvenience residents.
“(Authorities must) ensure that these STPs perform as per the applicable norms and no inconvenience is caused to the residents of the area on account of the emission of foul odour,” said the NGT order.
The order is based on a 2023 original application by Nature Foundation India, which alleged that the STPs in Kondli and Mayur Vihar are not complying with norms, and are also releasing “poisonous” gases that cause air pollution. The application said that despite earlier cases in NGT and complaints filed with the Delhi Jal Board and the DPCC, the problems arising from the STPs have not reduced.
On 14 August, the NGT noted that recent samples from the STP discharge tested in April 2026 reveal that the Kondli STPs were working according to prescribed standards. However, this did not exempt VA Tech Wabag Limited and the Delhi Jal Board, which manage the STPs, from paying compensation based on the ‘Polluter Pays’ principle. The NGT thus ordered the DPCC to recover the Rs 10 lakh compensation that was levied on the parties.
The Kondli STPs treat wastewater from residential and commercial areas around East Delhi, and then release the treated discharge into the Yamuna Basin. Since the plants are situated in close proximity to residential areas, the NGT also directed the DPCC to continue to monitor their functioning, despite the plants currently meeting environmental norms.
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History of Kondli STPs
The recent NGT case is the latest in a line of complaints and issues with the functioning of the sewage treatment plants in Kondli. The 2023 case, based on which the 14 August judgment was passed, was itself based on cases in 2018, which had alleged that the Kondli STPs were emitting foul odour and hazardous gases near Mayur Vihar.
Back then, on the NGT’s orders, the DPCC had provided a list of remedial measures the STPs needed to take, including ensuring that all STP components were operational, placing effective odour-control mechanisms in place, and ensuring that all phases of the STPs were up-to-date.
These recommendations were brought up time and again in 2019, 2020, and 2023, when the case returned to the NGT because the STP continued to violate prescribed environmental norms. In 2020, Rs 10 lakh compensation was levied by the NGT on private company VA Tech Wabag Ltd for its role in the construction and maintenance of the STP.
In 2021, an additional Rs 10 lakh compensation was levied by the NGT on the Delhi Jal Board for the same reasons.
It is the recovery of these compensatory amounts that the NGT directed on 14 August. It also added that since the Kondli STPs have a history of environmental norm violation, the authorities need to continue monitoring their emissions and ensure they do not disturb or cause harmful discharge toward the residents.
(Edited by Aamaan Alam Khan)