The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has decided to monitor the sewage treatment plants (STPs) in the housing societies, following reports that most of the plants are non-functional and not reusing treated water, and impose penalties for non-compliance, despite prior assistance from the civic administration.
The PMC plans to establish a panel of expert agencies to set up and operate small-sized STPs for housing societies. These agencies will provide comprehensive support to ensure effective operation and facilitate water reuse within the societies, Manisha Shekatkar, Chief Engineer of PMC, told The Indian Express on Friday.
The PMC plans to develop a policy governing the operation of small STPs in housing societies. If STPs fail to function correctly, the societies will face penalties, Shekatkar noted. Issues related to high power consumption or noise pollution from STPs will be addressed with the help of expert consultants, the officer said.
According to the Pune Municipal Corporation’s Building Regulations, residential projects with over 100 apartments are required to install their own STPs to treat sewage and reuse the treated water on-site. This directive aims to alleviate the burden on civic bodies’ STPs and reduce reliance on civic water supplies.
Over the past five years, data indicate that the PMC mandated the establishment of 772 small-capacity STPs, capable of treating 1,11,373 kilolitres of sewage generated by new buildings with over 100 apartments.
“The PMC, while granting permission for constructing new apartment buildings, made it mandatory to construct a small capacity STP on the premises. However, many real estate developers set up in-house STP, which either failed to operate or could not maintain them due to poor management,” Shekatkar said.
Housing societies play foul
It has been observed that while STPs exist at various project sites, the sewage generated by these housing societies is often discharged into nearby natural streams, stormwater drains, or the civic body’s sewage system, she said.
Shekatkar mentioned that this situation leads to additional load on the existing STP infrastructure. “The compulsion of STPs within the premises of the residential housing societies is mainly to ensure the reuse of treated water, reducing the demand for drinking water in domestic settings. This approach not only conserves water but also saves energy and costs associated with drawing water from primary sources,” she explained.
Plan to rope in private agencies
The civic body is also planning to empanel private agencies authorised to provide operational services for STPs in housing societies. These agencies will recommend various STP technologies to the societies and will enter into maintenance agreements for five years.
“PMC will serve as a facilitator and performance monitor for empaneled consultants. Payment to the consultant will be done directly by housing societies, apartments, or developers,” said Shekatkar. The consultant is expected to provide impartial, objective, and expert advice to the end user while strictly adhering to the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) discharge standards and PMC norms throughout the project lifecycle.
“The PMC will monitor the performance of empaneled consultants, which will be periodically reviewed based on quality of design, technical soundness, economic viability, and energy efficiency. We will also track adherence to timeliness of delivery in service, and the success rate of STPs in meeting treated water quality standards,” said Shekatkar.
Suhas Patwardhan, chairman of Pune District Cooperative Housing Society Federation, noted that the PMC should not only require builders to install in-house STPs, but also ensure they are operational.
“Many builders set up the STP merely to obtain a No Objection Certificate to complete the project. They leave it without ensuring its operation, while housing society representatives often lack the expertise to maintain these systems; so they remain unused,” he said, suggesting PMC to insist that real estate developers operate the STPs for five years after installation.
Patwardhan said, “The PMC should not merely penalise housing societies for non-operation of in-house STPs; it should provide comprehensive assistance to ensure they remain functional”.
Need for awareness on STP use
He further proposed that the PMC should rope in the services of the Federation to create awareness about the use of STPs and prepare a panel of expert service providers for the purpose.
Incidentally, the PMC is currently struggling to treat the complete sewage generated in the city, with only treated water being released into the Mutha River. The civic body has been trying to increase sewage treatment capacity to meet the demand of the growing population, but is facing challenges in acquiring land for new STPs.
The Pune civic body is also trying to check the use of water drawn from the reservoir to ensure adequate water availability and has undertaken a study of groundwater in case of an emergency situation of water scarcity.
The PMC plans to monitor and penalize Pune housing societies for non-functional STPs and lack of water reuse. (Express Photo) 
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