Compliance in India
India's discharge standards have tightened, relaxed, and tightened again. The direction since the NGT's 2019 intervention is unambiguous: BOD at or below 10 mg/L, COD at or below 50, fecal coliform under 100 MPN/100 mL. Every Sarvo Green STP is designed against the strictest anticipated norm — not today's minimum.
Central: CPCB & NGT
Environment (Protection) Rules, 2015 notification and subsequent NGT directions
State: SPCB / PCC
Each board sets its own trigger threshold, monitoring and renewal regime
Project: CTE & CTO
Consent to Establish before construction, Consent to Operate after commissioning
Central standards
All values in mg/L except fecal coliform (MPN/100 mL).
| Period | BOD | COD | TSS | Fecal Coliform | Total N | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-2015 (General Standards) | 30 | 250 | 100 | Not specified | Not specified | Historical baseline |
| 2015 STP Notification | 10 | 50 | 10 (Metro) / 20 (others) | <100 | 10 (direction) | Aggressive tightening |
| 2017 Amendment (Relaxation) | 20 | 100–200 (debated) | 50 | 1,000 | Not strictly enforced | Brief relaxation — widely criticized |
| 2019 NGT Intervention | 10 | 50 | 10–20 | <100 | 10 (direction) | Struck down the 2017 relaxation |
| Current Direction (2024–2026) | ≤10 | ≤50 | ≤20 | <100 | ≤10 (emerging) | Unambiguously strict trend |
| Anticipated Future | ≤10 | ≤50 | ≤10 | <100 | ≤10, TP ≤2 | Sarvo design target |
State-level rules
Central norms set the floor; states set the trigger, the monitoring regime and the enforcement temperature. Select your state.
Thresholds and monitoring requirements are revised periodically. Sarvo confirms the current position with your board as part of every site survey.
| State | Board | Threshold | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delhi | DPCC — strictest enforcement | All buildings >20 KLD sewage | OCEMS for >50 KLD, real-time monitoring |
| Karnataka | KSPCB — active enforcement | All apartments >20 units or >50 KLD | Real-time monitoring mandated |
| Maharashtra | MPCB — well-resourced | Buildings >20 KLD sewage | Zero liquid discharge push for industrial areas |
| Tamil Nadu | TNPCB — experienced with SBR | Buildings >20 KLD sewage | Strict enforcement in the Chennai metropolitan area |
| Gujarat | GPCB — balanced approach | Buildings >20 KLD | Strong industrial effluent focus |
| Uttar Pradesh | UPPCB — uneven enforcement | Buildings >50 KLD in some areas | Ganga basin areas carry stricter norms |
| Rajasthan | RPCB | Buildings >20 KLD | Water scarcity drives a reuse emphasis |
| Goa | GSPCB — eco-sensitive focus | All buildings in CRZ / eco-sensitive areas | Coastal Regulation Zone adds approval complexity |
Consent process
Granted by the State Pollution Control Board on the basis of the proposed technology, capacity and expected performance. Requires the STP design basis, process description, layout and effluent quality commitment.
How Sarvo helps: Sarvo datasheets, process descriptions and GA drawings are structured to be attached directly to a CTE application.
Granted after demonstrated compliance through effluent sampling. Typically renewed every 5 years. Failure to obtain or maintain CTO can result in closure orders, penalties and NGT intervention.
How Sarvo helps: Three consecutive NABL-lab samples at full load are part of every Sarvo handover — the evidence pack a CTO application needs.
Several boards now mandate online continuous monitoring for larger installations, along with periodic third-party sampling and record-keeping.
How Sarvo helps: Smart and Smart+ tiers log flow, energy and process data to the cloud and auto-generate downloadable compliance reports.
Reuse standards
Compliance is the floor. Reuse is where the money is — and each application has its own quality bar.
| Application | BOD | TSS | Turbidity (NTU) | Fecal Coliform | Additional | Recommended |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toilet Flushing | <10 | <10 | <5 | <100 | No visible colour, no odour | Standard SBR / MBR |
| Landscape Irrigation | <10 | <20 | <10 | <200 | No sodium restriction for most plants | Standard (all technologies) |
| Cooling Tower Makeup | <5 | <5 | <2 | <100 | Low TDS, no biological growth promoters | Premium MBR + RO |
| Vehicle Washing | <10 | <10 | <5 | <100 | No visible suspended matter | Standard MBR, Premium SBR |
| Construction (curing) | <20 | <20 | <10 | <1000 | pH 6.5–8.5, minimal chlorides | Standard (all technologies) |
| Firefighting Reserve | <20 | <20 | <10 | <1000 | Non-septic storage, periodic circulation | Standard (all technologies) |
Cost of non-compliance
No Consent to Operate
Occupancy certificate rejection, project delays, sealing orders
Failed effluent sample
Show-cause notice, bank guarantee forfeiture, repeat sampling costs
NGT action / environmental compensation
Penalties reported up to INR 5 Crore for large defaulting complexes
Non-functional legacy STP
RWA liability, resident complaints, forced retrofit at short notice
Sarvo engineers audit existing STPs, identify why they fail their samples, and design the retrofit that gets the CTO renewed.