Fine up to ₹5 lakh for discharging sewage into storm-water drains

The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has decided to take strict action against buildings illegally discharging sewage water into the city's storm-water drains. Those committing such illegalities will be slapped with a fine of up to ₹5 lakh, and legal proceedings will also be initiated against the responsible persons.

According to a report in The Hindu, these fine amounts have been approved via a GCC Council resolution and will vary based on the category and use of the building. In the case of ordinary buildings, a fine of ₹10,000 has been fixed for residential spaces and ₹25,000 for commercial spaces. For special buildings, these fines will be ₹50,000 and ₹1 lakh, respectively.

Furthermore, a fine of ₹2 lakh will be imposed on multi-storeyed buildings in residential areas and ₹5 lakh on multi-storeyed buildings in commercial areas. The Corporation stated that illegal sewage connections create obstructions in the flow of rainwater, leading to waterlogging on roads during the monsoon.

Commissioner G.S. Sameer has issued a circular directing officials from the GCC and Metrowater to jointly conduct field inspections and block and disconnect illegal discharge routes. A joint register will be maintained for this purpose, recording locations where sewage is released into storm-water drains or on roads, details of responsible owners or occupiers, blocked connections, and details of fines collected.

Building owners will be provided guidance by the administration to obtain authorised sewer connections through Metrowater. The circular explicitly states that under no circumstances shall storm-water drains be used for the disposal of sewage water.

To coordinate the inspection process, zonal officers have been instructed to appoint nodal officers and submit reports to the Commissioner. All details of the fines collected must be uploaded to the GCC's mobile application immediately. The Greater Chennai Corporation and the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board will work jointly in this entire campaign.