Banner
Workflow

CPCB report on India’s sewage plants

Contact Counsellor

CPCB report on India’s sewage plants

  • Sewage treatment plants (STPs) are able to treat a little more than a third of the sewage generated per day, according to the latest report of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
  • The report has been compiled on the basis of information received from the state pollution control boards about STPs.
  • India generated 72,368 MLD (million litres per day) whereas the installed capacity of STPs was 31,841 MLD (43.9 per cent) as per report.

Skewed distribution

  • 5 states and Union Territories (UT) — Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Karnataka — account for 60 per cent of the total installed treatment capacity of the country.
  • Arunachal Pradesh, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Manipur, Meghalaya and Nagaland have not installed sewage treatment plants.
  • Assam generates 809 MLD of sewage. However, it does not have a single operational STP. Septic tanks are used in the state.

Reuse of sewage

  • The reuse of treated sewage is an issue which hasn’t assumed much importance in the policy planning of many state governments.
  • Treated sewage water can be reused for horticulture, irrigation, washing activities (road, vehicles and trains), fire-fighting, industrial cooling, toilet flushing and gardening.
  • The proportion of the reuse of treated sewage is maximum in Haryana (80 per cent) followed by Puducherry (55 per cent), Delhi (50 per cent), Chandigarh (35 per cent) and Tamil Nadu (25 per cent).
  • The reuse of treated sewage can decrease the water demand from aquatic sources like rivers, ponds, lakes and as well as groundwater sources.

Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)

  • It is the statutory organisation constituted in 1974 under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974.
  • Further, CPCB was entrusted with the powers and functions under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981.
  • Principle functions:
  1. To promote cleanliness of streams and wells in different areas of the States by prevention, control and abatement of water pollution
  2. To improve the quality of air and to prevent, control or abate air pollution in the country.

Categories