The hike in the annual Consent for Operation fee is arbitrary and, worse, could discourage people from treating their sewage. It is especially unfair to law-abiding citizens.
The KSPCB which allows establishment of STPs without stringent checks, is now imposing an expensive and overkill solution whose technology could soon be obsolete.
Apartment STPs (Sewage Treatment Plants) are set up after getting government approvals, yet they malfunction soon and residents keep spending lakhs to correct defects. This scenario can change with some reforms in the STP approval process.
KSPCB has sent notices to hundreds of apartments in the city, alleging they are discharging untreated sewage. Apartments have gone to court against what they call an arbitrary action.
The KSPCB has extended the ‘Consent For Operation’ certificate’s validity for industries and STPs in apartments to five years. There is no need to pay any deposit to the KSPCB if an apartment is unable to complete STP before occupying it.