The Nagpur-based National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) has cautioned that the river water could be contaminated by leachate — a solution of rainwater with organic and inorganic pollutants that are present in the solid waste dumped by the Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC).

In a study conducted by NEERI on the orders of the Allahabad High Court, it has stated that the municipal solid waste (MSW) dumped on the riverbed near Gandhi Setu in Gomti Nagar and a few other sites could pose a serious concern about the quality of groundwater in the area. The air quality of the area could also deteriorate due to the release of suspended particulate matter from the dumped waste. “Following this the High Court has directed the state and the LMC to ensure that no municipal solid waste is dumped on the riverside any further,” petitioner’s counsel advocate BK Singh said.

The report says that Lucknow city generates around over 1,200 tonnes of MSW daily, and the LMC dumps it at various sites spread all over the city. There is no sanitary landfill site according to the MSW Rules 2000 as laid down by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF).

At Gandhi Setu, the civic body had dumped about 5,287 cubic meters of MSW in 2,500 sq mts area between June 2007 and March, 2008.

Apart from MSW, about 345 million litres sewage is daily generated and discharged into the river through 26 nullahs. More than 90 per cent of the liquid waste was being discharged untreated in the river, the report says.

Chemical analysis of the leachate samples collected from the Gandhi Setu area showed a high chemical oxygen demand (COD) in the range of 8,000 to 12,000 milligram per litre, while the permissible limit of COD should be less than 250 mg/lit.

The institute has recommended that the practice of dumping MSW along the Gomti should be immediately stopped and the garbage already dumped should be shifted to a sanitary landfill developed in accordance with the laid guidelines.

It has pointed out that at present there is no scientifically designed sanitary landfill in Lucknow.