Bengaluru sewage treatment plants that do not meet standards prescribed by the National Green Tribunal and the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board will have 30 days to comply, Karnataka Forest, Ecology and Environment Minister Ramalinga Reddy has directed.
The minister has asked the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) to ensure that all sewage treatment plants (STPs) in the city operate according to the prescribed standards. He has also directed the KSPCB to inspect private STPs across Bengaluru, including those located in apartment complexes, educational institutions, commercial buildings, hospitals and office campuses.
The inspections will cover whether these facilities meet the applicable treatment requirements. The direction places private sewage infrastructure under closer regulatory scrutiny alongside the city’s public sewage network.
Reddy has separately asked BWSSB to divert sewage entering stormwater drains, repair damaged manholes and complete pending sewer connections. These measures are intended to address gaps in the collection and movement of sewage before it reaches drains or remains outside the formal sewerage network.
The KSPCB and BWSSB have also been directed to jointly inspect industrial waste, with particular attention to the Peenya and Jigani industrial areas. The order broadens the inspection exercise beyond residential and commercial STPs to include industrial sources of wastewater.
The directions come as Bengaluru generates an estimated 2,580 million litres of sewage per day, while its current treatment capacity is listed at 1,364.5 million litres per day. The reported difference between generation and treatment capacity is 1,215.5 million litres per day.
According to the report, ongoing projects are expected to reduce this gap to 8.5 million litres per day by 2029. The projection makes completion of planned sewage infrastructure a key part of the city’s response, alongside immediate inspections and repairs.
The minister’s directions require the KSPCB to inspect private STPs throughout Bengaluru and BWSSB to act on sewage diversions, damaged manholes and pending connections. The 30-day compliance period applies to STPs found not to meet the prescribed standards.
