Mandating Sewage Treatment Plants In Individual Apartments Sets A Dangerous Precedent
The case of Bellandur lake in Bengaluru catching fire is nothing new. The lake has been notorious for catching fire, spewing toxic foam all around it and has today become a symbol of the Information Technology (IT) capital’s fight against pollution. While many of us do wonder what is going on that causes water to catch fire, the lake’s pollution has attracted the attention of no less than the National Green Tribunal (NGT).
The NGT recently ordered apartments within the region to set up a sewage treatment plant (STP) within their premises in an apparent bid to control pollution in the lake. This order mirrors a similar one by the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) mandating residential societies within the vicinity of the heavily polluted Mithi river in Mumbai to set up an STP in 90 days. This is where the problem starts. For starters, even though the orders are only for larger units — the MPCB has mandated it only in societies generating more than 20,000 litres of sewage a day — it sets a dangerous precedent.
The Civics of the cities
Before we get into the actual problem itself, let us understand the basics of how the cities of Mumbai and Bengaluru operate.
Mumbai, by virtue of being in Maharashtra has the most decentralised administration in the country. The Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) not only carries out the regular functions of a civic body such as roads, streetlights, flyovers and bridges, stormwater drains, water supply and sewerage, but also operates transport, supplies electricity to parts of the city (both through the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport Undertaking, or BEST) and also operates the city’s fire brigade (Mumbai Fire Brigade). In stark contrast, the Bruhath Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has fewer responsibilities under Karnataka’s laws. Transport, fire and emergency services, electricity supply and water supply and sewerage are functions of agencies operated by the state government (BMTC, KFES, BESCOM and the BWSSB respectively). Of these, the responsibility of sewerage lies with the Bengaluru Water Suppy and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), an arrangement that mirrors other south Indian cities such as Chennai’s MetroWater and Mysuru’s Vani Vilas Water Works (VVWW).
Now coming back to the problem at hand
The NGT order (along with the MPCB) order sets a dangerous precedent. In future, it could be expanded to include smaller residential units and even commercial units. While the Supreme Court had last year ordered all industrial establishments across India to set up primary effluent treatment plants (ETPs), commercial units in Bengaluru were also ordered to set up STPs late last year. The BWSSB on its part relaxed the norms for apartments but not for commercial spaces. The net result? Many businesses are now looking to move out to different spaces.
Retrofitting any establishment with an STP is a herculean task. For starters, it requires a lot of space, one that many an apartment or commercial building sorely lacks. At the same time, it is expensive — the smallest possible arrangement would cost a bare minimum of Rs 20 lakh. A representative of the Prestige Group, one of the IT Capital’s largest real estate firms came out against the proposal, calling it unfeasible, simply because of the money and space requirements. Talks with service providers have revealed the cost of setting up an STP for a low-medium apartment with an average of 50 apartments to cost upwards of Rs 2 crore.
Scale does matter
As with any activity, the scale of sewage treatment is also important. It is worth noting that the cost of treating sewage per unit goes down drastically when there is more sewage to be treated. In many buildings in south Bengaluru, fresh water is supplied to all taps in a household except the flush, and the water from all drains and sinks (except the commode) gets treated in the STP and is then repurposed to be used in the flush. The sewage from here is accumulated in a septic tank before being cleaned out periodically. Cleaning up a septic tank requires an accessible opening, and during the process of cleaning, the air is polluted with the odour.
Passing the buck
The NGT order puts the onus of treating sewage on the ordinary citizen and lets government agencies go scot-free. It is akin to paying someone to wash one’s car only to be told by a higher authority to go wash the car themselves. When all property buyers are charged a certain sum by the BWSSB for both a water connection and sewerage outlet, why do they have to pay to treat the sewage themselves? Many a building in the newer parts of Bengaluru have never seen a water or sewage pipeline in the years following the BBMP’s formation — subsuming several town councils and panchayats outside the then Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) limits — in 2007.
In 2013, the chairman of the BWSSB said that it would take at least ten more years for the entire city to have a water and drainage connection. If that is the case, then shouldn’t property owners not have to pay for it till a connection actually exists, especially given that they now have the additional burden of running an STP?
Of course, the city’s core areas fare no better. Commercial Street in the heart of the city saw its decade-old pipelines replaced only in 2010. Residents in BTM Layout, complained of sewage getting mixed with their water as late as 2017. It wouldn’t be surprising if the NGT ordered households in BTM Layout — mostly independent houses — to each set up an STP to overcome the crises.
The real culprit in the case of water pollution, be it Bellandur lake or the Mithi river or even the Yamuna in Delhi is the lackadaisical attitude of government agencies. Government bodies, funded by the taxpayer should delve into the root cause of the pollution, force illegal industrial units to plug in a cork and stop harassing the common man. If the government cannot do it, it can go in for a public-private partnership at a organisational level and not put pressure on citizens.
The NGT order, in essence will lead to a classic case of taxpayer money going down the drain, in this case, quite literally.
