JOIN USThe Bangalore Apartments' Federation (BAF) has planned to hold a silent rally on December 2 against the impractical regulation and the frequent threats by BWSSB and KSPCB of disconnecting water and power supply.
The federation has raised an objection to the notices being issued by BWSSB and KSPCB for not complying with the rules of installing sewage treatment plants (STP) and not maintaining standard levels in the treatment of wastewater in old apartments in the city.
As per the notification issued by BWSSB, all apartments with 50 houses and above must compulsorily install STPs and new apartments having 20 houses and more which have received NOCs after March 2016, have to install the STP.
The federation has also raised the issue of BWSSB charging the apartments three times higher the water tariff than individual houses.
Srikanth Narasimhan, general secretary of BAF said that the rules of having STP for older apartments will be a disaster as an STP may bring the building down. "Demanding the old apartments to have STPs is unreasonable as they were discharging their sewage into the same underground drains all this while. BWSSB came up with the rule only after they were questioned by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) about the condition of the Bellandur Lake. BWSSB is trying to blame the apartments for their inefficiency. However, it is only now that they are coming up with new plants in the city," he added.
However, BWSSB's chairman Tushar Girinath said that they will not make any changes to the notification as it is a government decision. "Members of the federation have met us and now the matter is before the court. We are not inclined towards making changes in the notification," he added.
KSPCB's chairman Lakshman said that some of the apartments have approached BWSSB and have been given permission to let their sewage into the BWSSB's underground drains. "KSPCB and BWSSB are planning to hold a meeting by the end of this month with members of the federation to address their issues," he added.