PCMC mayor seeks list of housing societies polluting rivers within 7 days, tells officials to initiate stern action against such residential complexes

Pune: Pimpri Chinchwad mayor Ravi Landge has directed the civic environment department to identify, within seven days, housing societies discharging untreated sewage into nullahs and initiate strict action against them. The directive followed complaints that effluents from residential complexes and a private educational institute were polluting the Pavana river.Mayor Landge visited Kiwale on Tuesday, where he told civic officials to ensure that sewage treatment plants (STPs) installed in housing societies were fully operational. He also warned of of legal action against the housing societies and institutions not complying with pollution control norms. "Even officials found negligent in enforcement would face disciplinary action," the mayor said.Under existing rules, STPs are mandatory for housing societies with 100 or more flats or a builtup area of at least 20,000sqm. Civic officials said there were at least 494 such societies within the municipal limits, with surveys finding STPs not functioning in 99 of them.Yogesh Alhat, executive engineer in PCMC's environment department, said the 99 societies were served three notices each. "The names of these societies have been shared with the water supply department for snapping their connections as a punitive measure," he said.Former corporator Tukaram Bhondave had recently held a protest over the deteriorating condition of the Pavana river in Kiwale. "The use of treated water should be made mandatory for gardening, flushing and other non-potable purposes. Housing societies should also be required to submit weekly progress reports. Continuous monitoring using technical tools must be carried out," Landge said.He said the action would not be limited to Kiwale or the Pavana river but would extend across the entire Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) limits. "A joint drive will be undertaken against sewage being discharged through drains into all three rivers flowing through the city (Indrayani, Mula and Pavana)," he said.Housing societies generally discharge sewage either into the municipal drainage network or directly into nullahs. While discharge into the drainage system is treated at civic STPs, effluent released into nullahs often flows into channels not connected to treatment plants, increasing the risk of untreated sewage entering rivers.Alhat said during an inspection drive launched on April 17, five of 17 inspected societies were fined Rs 10,000 each for releasing untreated effluent directly into nullahs.Representatives of housing societies, however, said they were being unfairly targeted. Sanjeevan Sangle, president of the Chikhali-Moshi Pimpri Chinchwad Housing Societies Federation, said many violations stemmed from lapses by developers. "We have repeatedly pointed out that developers often fail to install STPs or hand over poorly designed units that stop functioning within months. Completion certificates are issued without proper onsite inspections," Sangle said.
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