Curation Team
PUNE: Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) has issued notices to 184 housing societies for failing to operate sewage treatment plants (STPs) which are mandatory.
A senior civic official said at least 50 of the said societies were served a third and final notice, which warned that the civic body would cut water supply if the STPs are not made functional immediately.
Officials said action was being taken under the Unified Development Control and Promotion Regulations (UDCPR), which mandate STP installation and operation in all residential projects with a built-up area of 20,000 sqm. Treated water is to be reused for non-potable purposes like gardening, toilet flushing and general cleaning.
PCMC officials said out of 456 housing societies under this rule, 264 have operational STPs and 192 don’t. A first notice was served to 84, second to 50 and another third and final warning to 50 housing societies. At eight societies, civic teams were denied entry by residents during inspections.
PCMC’s environment department has appointed a private agency to conduct regular monitoring of STP operations to improve compliance. “STPs are inspected frequently and notices issued to societies where the systems are non-functional. Considering the growing demand for water during summer, reusing treated water is crucial,” said a civic official.
The civic body provides alternate day water supply to residents since 2019 and many housing societies are forced to depend on tankers during summer.
The PCMC official said many societies fail to maintain their STPs. Once the system develops an issue, repairs are often delayed by the society’s management committee, leading to prolonged non-functionality.
Meanwhile, housing societies criticised the civic body for poor implementation of building permission norms while giving completion certificates to residential projects. “In many cases, the builders install low-quality or non-functional STPs. PCMC officials do not verify details or physically inspect the plants before giving completion certificates and only residents are blamed,” said Dattatray Deshmukh, chairman of the Pimpri Chinchwad Cooperative Housing Societies Federation.
Deshmukh said PCMC officials had told them in the past that builders are responsible for maintaining STPs for two years post-handover, but this rule is never enforced. He said maintaining STPs is expensive and requires trained personnel for daily operations.
“While PCMC continues to issue notices to societies, it should also ensure its own STPs function properly — since many operate below capacity and release untreated water into local water bodies,” Deshmukh said.
Sanjeevan Sangle, chairman of Chikhali Moshi Pimpri Chinchwad Cooperative Housing Societies Federation, said “Water supply is basic. If the civic body has to take action, it should first act against builders who provide poor quality or non-functional STPs to residents.”
