The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) is considering a proposal to make it mandatory for small apartments that have five and more flats to have sewage water treatment plants (STP) of their own.
Out of 110 crore litres of sewage water that the City generates everyday, the existing STPs can only treat about 78 crore litres. With no proper underground drainage system in place, just 48 crore litres are being let into the treatment plants. The remaining 65 crore litres of sewage water is let into lakes and other water bodies in the City untreated contaminating them.
Lakes in Varthur, Bellandur, Madiwala and Puttenahalli have been highly polluted. The BWSSB has said that untreated water is being let into at least 40 lakes in the City.
“It is not very expensive to have these plants set up in small apartment complexes. There are models starting from even Rs two lakhs and three lakhs. The size of this is just that of a refrigerator. But for drinking, this water could be used for other domestic use,” said an official from the Board.
Chief engineer of BWSSB, N Krishnappa said that the Board has been appealing to those who are constructing flats to have underground drainage systems in place. In view of the recent Belandur lake incident, Minister of Environment, Forests and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar had directed the BWSSB to take proper measures to ensure that the sewage water was not let into water bodies.
In 2010, the State government had ordered that every apartment that had 50 or more flats to have the sewage treatment units set up in these places, the estimated amount for each is close to Rs 50 lakh.
Pro-rata hike
A proposal to hike the pro-rata charges for the new buildings, be it houses, apartments, commercial complexes or flats is on the cards. In the BWSSB meeting that would take place next week, the issue would be discussed and a call would be taken.
If it is approved by the Board, the revised rates would be in place from 2016. Presently, for buildings with ground floor and two additional floors, Rs 150 per square metre is being charged, Rs 200 for apartments and Rs 300 for commercial complex has been fixed. The proposal is to double these rates.
“The rates have not been revised since the last two years. The prices of all other commodities have gone up. Hence a rate revision has become necessary,” said Krishnappa.
The Board earns a revenue of Rs 20-25 crores from the pro-rata. It is through this that the board has been undertaking the pipeline laying works and underground drainage works.
“The City’s population is on the rise and new buildings are coming up. To undertake work here, a hike in the price is necessary,” he added.