Pune: PCMC Warns 184 Housing Societies Over Non-Functional Sewage Treatment Plants

Pimpri, 3rd May 2025: The Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) has issued notices to 184 residential housing societies for failing to operate mandatory sewage treatment plants (STPs), warning that water supply could be cut off if compliance is not ensured.

A senior official from the civic body said that 50 of these societies have now received a third and final notice, stressing that failure to activate their STPs could lead to water disconnection. The action comes under the Unified Development Control and Promotion Regulations (UDCPR), which require all housing projects with a built-up area over 20,000 square metres to install and maintain functioning STPs. Treated wastewater must be reused for non-drinking purposes such as flushing toilets, gardening, and general cleaning.

According to PCMC data, 456 housing societies fall under the mandatory STP category. While 264 have operational systems, the remaining 192 are either defunct or never made functional. Civic teams have issued initial notices to 84 societies, followed by second warnings to another 50, and a third round of final notices to an additional 50. In eight instances, inspection teams were reportedly denied access by residents.

To ensure proper monitoring, PCMC’s environment department has engaged a private agency to inspect STP operations regularly. “We are closely monitoring STP functionality and sending notices wherever lapses are found. With water demand soaring during summer, it’s essential to reuse treated water to conserve supply,” a civic official told Punekar News.

Since 2019, residents under the PCMC jurisdiction have been receiving alternate-day water supply, with many societies depending on private tankers to bridge the gap—especially during peak summer months.
The official pointed out that many societies neglect timely maintenance of their STPs. “Once a system breaks down, repair work is often delayed by the society’s management, resulting in prolonged inoperability,” the official added.

However, several housing societies have hit back at the civic body, accusing it of failing to hold developers accountable during the approval process. “Builders often install substandard or non-functional STPs, and yet PCMC issues completion certificates without proper verification. Later, residents are left to deal with the mess,” said Dattatray Deshmukh, president of the Pimpri Chinchwad Cooperative Housing Societies Federation.

Deshmukh further claimed that while civic officials have verbally acknowledged that developers are responsible for maintaining STPs for the first two years after handover, this rule is rarely enforced. “Running an STP is not cheap. It requires skilled staff and daily upkeep, which societies struggle to manage,” he said.

He also questioned the PCMC’s internal accountability. “The corporation must ensure that its own STPs are operating efficiently. Many of them discharge untreated water due to underperformance,” Deshmukh alleged.

Echoing similar concerns, Sanjeevan Sangle, president of the Chikhali-Moshi Pimpri Chinchwad Housing Societies Federation, said, “Access to water is a basic right. If PCMC plans to penalize residents, it should first take action against builders who hand over faulty systems.”