Telangana, Andhra Pradesh home to 11 of the dirtiest sites

Hyderabad: New sites like Maheswaram in Hyderabad and Madhurawada in Visakhapatnam have been added to the list of India’s dirtiest places after the soil, groundwater and surface water in these areas were found to have a high concentration of heavy metal contamination.

Out of the 320 officially declared contaminated sites by the Ministry of Forests and Environment, TS and AP stake claim to 11. The states have failed to take up bioremediation measures in many of these areas due to external factors like land litigations and lack of funds. Greater Hyderabad topped the list, with nine dirty sites, in the South. According to the report titled “Inventory and Mapping of Probably Contaminated Sites in India”, water bodies and industrial estates are badly affected due to the indiscriminate dumping of effluents and hazardous waste.

The report says that nickel, cobalt, copper, zinc, cadmium, chromium and lead pollutants are found in Maheswaram area of Hyderabad. The situation in Madhurawada in Vizag is worse as the area, which comprises of both industrial and residential population, has the deadly mercury contamination in the water.

Rithwik Energy Systems, a biomass power plant in Rachagunneri in Chittoor district of AP, has been identified as another high-contamination site. The sites have been identified based on the reports from EPTRI, Blacksmith Institute, the AP Pollution Control Board and Central Pollution Control Board.

Bioremediation has failed to take off in water bodies like Noor Mohammed Kunta, which had been declared as a contaminated site a long while back.

TSPCB Joint Chief Environmental Engineer Mr R Ravinder Reddy said, “We had the project ready with World Bank funding for Noor Mohammed Kunta, but locals approached the court and opposed the cleansing, stating that it was their land. The project has been put on hold since then.”

“Regarding Manasni Kunta Lake, a detailed project report has been made, and two phases of bioremediation plan have been completed. The Musi river is almost 50 per cent treated and for the remaining half, the government is now taking up a Rs 2,000 crore project. Patancheru is no more a severely contaminated site as we have laid an 18-kilometre pipeline and are now treating the waste at the Amberpet effluent treatment plant. We have removed certain sites from the inventory as they are no longer highly contaminated”, said Ravinder.

Contaminated
1. Noor Mohammed Kunta – Katedan Industrial Estate
2. Musi River- Hyderabad
3. Patancheru-Medak
4. Asani Kunta lake – Medak
5. Maheswaram – Ranga Reddy
6. Chevella Industrial area – RR
7. L B Nagar Industrial area
8. Moula Ali Industrial Area
9. Gundlapochampally Industrial Area
10. Rithwik Energy plant-Chittoor
11. Madhurawada -Visakahapatnam