Curation Team
KOCHI: Consortium of flat and villa owners’ association, Kerala (COFVOAK), has appealed to Kerala state pollution control board (KSPCB) to allow apartment complexes without sewage treatment plants (STPs) to temporarily use common treatment facilities in the city for the next two years.
The appeal comes after KSPCB issued eviction notices to more than 1,000 families residing in 71 apartment complexes that failed to set up STPs, and Kerala state electricity board (KSEB) served disconnection notices for non-compliance with pollution control norms.
When high court considered petitions from various residents’ associations, it directed KSPCB to explore granting reasonable time for compliance, subject to undertakings from builders or associations.
At a meeting held on Sunday, COFVOAK decided to approach PCB again, stressing that setting up individual STPs would be an unnecessary financial burden as a centralized sewage network is expected to become operational in Kochi within two years under integrated urban regeneration and water transport system (IURWTS) project.
“Installing STP costs between Rs 15 lakh and Rs 30 lakh for each apartment complex, but this investment will go to waste once the centralized system is functional. Until then, apartment complexes can transport sewage to common treatment facilities of GCDA and KWA using tanker trucks at their own cost,” association said in a statement.
Association also highlighted that most of the affected buildings were built before 2007, when STPs were not mandatory, and many face severe space constraints for setting up such facilities.
