The Karnataka government has provided relief to apartment communities in areas with underground drainage (UGD) lines, essentially the core city, by amending rules for in-situ sewage treatment plants (STPs). Henceforth, only apartment complexes with over 120 units and producing over 80 kilolitres per day (KLD) of sewage will have to install an in-situ STP.
At present, an STP is mandatory for projects above 50 units. However, smaller STPs are capital-intensive and inefficient. The Bangalore Apartments Federation (BAF) lobbied hard for this amendment. However, in areas yet to be serviced by UGD lines, an in-situ STP is mandatory for all projects with over 20 units.
The Department of Forest, Ecology and Environment issued a notification on March 12. The order will be with prospective effect, and apartments that already have established smaller STPs must continue with their operations. The new notification also provides some relief to commercial projects in areas with sewerage lines.
