The Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) has constituted two special squads tasked with disconnecting the water supply of housing societies that have not made their sewage treatment plants (STPs) operational, despite receiving multiple notices.
This action comes a day after Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) chairman Siddhesh Kadam declared a statewide audit of housing societies and warned of punitive measures against complexes lacking functional STPs.
Implementation Details
A senior official from the PCMC water supply department stated that squad members have been assigned to support the environment department in this initiative. The environment department has identified 62 housing societies for immediate action, as they have failed to comply with regulations after three notices, according to executive engineer Yogesh Alhat. City engineer and environment department head Sanjay Kulkarni confirmed that proceedings have commenced.
When questioned about the legality of disconnecting water supply, a basic necessity, a senior PCMC official explained that such action is permissible under the Unified Development Control and Promotion Regulations (UDCPR) and environmental norms. Larger housing societies are required to treat sewage and reuse the treated water for non-potable purposes like gardening, thereby reducing dependence on fresh water.
Previous Compliance Drives
Earlier this year, PCMC conducted a survey of residential societies to verify compliance with mandatory STP norms. The drive found 99 societies with non-functional STPs, leading to notices. According to rules, housing societies with over 100 flats or a built-up area of 20,000 square meters must install and operate STPs. Pimpri Chinchwad has approximately 494 such societies.
A similar drive was launched in June last year, during which water supply to several societies, especially in Chikhali and Moshi, was disconnected. However, protests from residents and housing society federation office-bearers forced the civic body to halt the drive.
Residents' Concerns
Sanjeevan Sangle, president of the Chikhali-Moshi Pimpri Chinchwad Housing Societies Federation, argued that in many cases, the fault lies with developers who handed over defective or poor-quality STPs to residents. He stated, "The PCMC building permission department issued completion certificates to these projects even though their STPs were either not operational or of substandard quality. Instead of taking action against developers or its own officials, the civic body is targeting residents who are not at fault." He added that the federation would protest against the move.
