BENGALURU: IN line with a directive issued by the State’s environment department, the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) has decided that a commercial establishment with a built-up area of 2,000 square meter and above must install a Sewage Treatment Plant.
The decision was taken at a BWSSB board meeting on Saturday. “We will be sending the proposal to the government shortly for approval,” said engineer-in-chief Kemparamaiah.
According to a notification issued by the Forest, Ecology & Environment department, “Commercial construction projects (office space, IT-related activities, etc) with a total built up area of 2,000 square metre and above shall install Sewage Treatment Plant.”
This brings about a major modification in the previous decision in April when BWSSB stated that commercial complexes with a built-up area of 100 square meter had to install an STP.
There are nearly one lakh commercial establishments across the city which will fall under this category. Huge complexes have not been included as they already have STPs in place, he added. “When it comes into effect, it could make a huge difference to water consumption as the treated water will be used for non-potable purposes,” Kemparamaiah said.
A source said, “Making STPs mandatory for small complexes would not work out as many of them do not even have washrooms for their staff.”
During the meeting, it was also decided to construct ground-level reservoir with a capacity of 7.5 million litres per day at Jayadev Nagar in K R Puram.
“There is a huge demand for water in the area and at present we provide water twice a week. When this reservoir is in place, we would be able to store water in it and provide the residents water every alternate day,” said Kemparamaiah.