Analysing the Draft Liquid Waste Management Rules, 2024: Salient Features and Way Forward
-By Arushi Tiwari*
The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change issued the Draft Liquid Waste Management Rules, 2024, on October 7, 2024, marking a pivotal step in overhauling India’s approach to liquid waste management.
Overview of Notable Features
Central to these Rules is a structured framework aimed at standardizing the treatment and management of liquid waste across a wide spectrum of sources. The Rules adopt a comprehensive scope, covering both residential and non-residential areas, and extending their application to entities in the public and private sectors alike.[1] By defining “liquid waste generators” to include all infrastructures where such waste is produced, the government demonstrates its intent to transcend sector-specific reforms.[2] This comprehensive approach underscores a commitment to sustainability, robust compliance mechanisms, and greater accountability in waste disposal practices.
The Rules aim to comprehensively enhance wastewater treatment, promote reuse, and improve septage management across urban and rural landscapes. They introduce pivotal principles such as the “polluter pays” framework and extended user responsibility. Furthermore, provisions allow local authorities to levy user fees on liquid waste generators, enabling the recovery of full or partial costs associated with waste collection, transportation, treatment, and disposal services.
The Rules delineate specific responsibilities for various stakeholders involved in wastewater management, including individual wastewater generators, operators of treatment facilities, local authorities, public wastewater management agencies, and desludging service providers. A notable addition is the introduction of the category of “bulk users,” accompanied by tailored obligations.
A bulk user is broadly defined to include establishments such as buildings occupied by Central or State government departments and undertakings, local bodies, public sector entities, private companies, hospitals, nursing homes, educational institutions (schools, colleges, universities, and hostels), hotels, markets, places of worship, stadia, sports complexes, and other private or public commercial, institutional, or residential entities with an average daily water usage exceeding 5,000 litres.[3]
These entities are mandated to ensure the treatment of the wastewater they generate and to reuse treated water for specified purposes, adhering to targets outlined in the Rules. Bulk users may establish on-site decentralized wastewater treatment facilities with appropriate technologies and adequate capacity. In cases where such facilities cannot be managed, the Rules provide an alternative: entities may secure exemptions for equivalent water usage from local authorities and purchase Extended User Responsibility (EUR) certificates from registered wastewater treatment facilities to comply with their obligations.[4] This flexibility is a welcome aspect of the Rules, recognizing the practical challenges that entities may encounter in establishing decentralized wastewater treatment facilities. By accommodating these constraints, the Rules adopt a pragmatic approach that balances regulatory requirements with on-ground feasibility, fostering broader compliance and participation.
The concepts of Extended User Responsibility and the bulk user category represent significant regulatory tools within the Rules. These mechanisms not only impose accountability but may also incentivize water conservation by encouraging entities to minimize their compliance burdens. The EUR approach aligns closely with the principle of Extended Producer Responsibility, a framework already established in laws governing plastic and solid waste management.
This feature is particularly vital in the context of India’s water crisis, where scarcity remains a pressing concern, and access to water resources is often unequally distributed, favoring more privileged groups. By promoting judicious water usage, and sustainable management practices through compliance requirements, the Rules mark a critical step towards equitable and efficient resource utilization and risk allocation.
Local bodies play a pivotal role under these Rules. They are tasked with developing and implementing liquid waste management plans and ensuring compliance with them.
For example, Rule 3 of Chapter III specifies the duties of local bodies to manage faecal sludge in an environmentally sustainable manner through well-defined action plans. This includes independent management or coordination with authorized agencies and the engagement of adequate desludging operators and treatment facilities to ensure cost-efficiency and effective service delivery. The Rules categorically prohibit the discharge of untreated faecal sludge onto land or into water bodies.
To develop informed action plans, local bodies are mandated to conduct studies estimating faecal sludge generation, with a specific focus on non-sewered households. Given the essential duties imposed on local bodies, financial and operational assistance is imperative in ensuring effective implementation especially since these measures hold the potential to drive substantial improvements in public health and sanitation, particularly benefiting rural areas and low-income communities where such interventions are most urgently needed.
As per Chapter II of the Rules, operators of wastewater treatment facilities and bulk users must achieve prescribed minimum recovery targets for treated wastewater. Notably, decentralized treatment facilities that are also categorized as bulk users are exempted from the registration and reporting requirements applicable to standard operators.[5]
The inclusion of minimum recovery and minimum reuse targets, localized plan formulation, and obligations such as the submission of annual returns detailing quantitative operational data collectively establish a robust legal framework for the regulation of liquid waste management. These measures address the complexities of an infrastructural domain characterized by significant variability and underscore the social importance of efficient and equitable waste management systems. By fostering accountability and standardization, the Rules aim to bring much-needed consistency and reform to a sector with far-reaching implications for public sanitation and environmental sustainability.
To facilitate the efficacious implementation of these Rules and their associated processes, the establishment of an online portal is proposed.[6] This platform will serve as a centralized system for tasks such as registration, submission of annual returns by obligated parties, and the documentation of audits for registered wastewater generators and entities involved in collection and treatment. Non-compliant entities will be subject to environmental compensation in accordance with the polluter pays principle.[7] The deliberate use of “environmental compensation” instead of the conventional term “penalty” signifies a shift towards an environment-centric approach, emphasizing restoration over retribution.
The Rules also envisage the creation of an Implementation Committee under the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), responsible for formulating guidelines for the calculation and imposition of environmental compensation.[8] Using data gathered via the portal, the CPCB will prepare a consolidated annual report on the Rules’ implementation, complete with recommendations, and submit it to the Central Government by August 31 each year – encouraging an informed, targeted, and routine revision of the Rules.[9]
Additionally, the Rules outline specific responsibilities for various ministries and departments, including the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change; Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs; Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation; Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare; Department of Fertilizers; State and Union Territory Governments; Department of Revenue; and Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, among others.[10] This delineation of roles illustrates the extensive and interdisciplinary scope of the Rules, reducing ambiguity for stakeholders and fostering a coordinated effort to achieve compliance and sustainability.
Way Forward
As previously mentioned, key regulatory mechanisms within the Rules include the Extended User Responsibility, the bulk user category, minimum recovery and reuse targets, action plans, and the requirement for annual returns. These provisions serve as crucial instruments for overseeing liquid waste management. However, it remains uncertain how these features will align with existing frameworks that share similar objectives. For instance, the Water Plus criteria under the Swachh Bharat Mission mandate that at least 25% of water must be reused at the city level after treatment[11], while the new Rules propose distinct reuse targets for bulk water consumers. These targets include a 20% reuse by 2027-28 for institutional, commercial, and residential establishments—such as government and private offices and residential societies—rising to 50% by 2030-31. The disparity in these targets could lead to confusion and policy overlap, posing a challenge for states and local bodies trying to reconcile their efforts, especially when multiple frameworks are operating simultaneously. To mitigate such issues, it is crucial to standardize these targets to ensure a cohesive and consistent approach across all regulations.
While the notification establishes a robust regulatory framework, its practical implementation is likely to face several challenges. The short transition timeline, along with the technical and financial pressures on smaller municipalities and industries, may slow down progress. Moreover, public resistance to the reuse of treated wastewater, particularly in residential and public spaces, could hinder widespread adoption. Overcoming these challenges requires comprehensive public engagement strategies. Educating communities about the importance of wastewater treatment and reuse will be essential in changing attitudes and ensuring the achievement of reuse targets.
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*Arushi Tiwari, Student, B.A.LL.B. V Year, National Law School of India University, Bengaluru.
[1] Draft Liquid Waste Management Rules 2024, Ch 1 r (2).
[2] Draft Liquid Waste Management Rules 2024, Ch 1 3(n).
[3] Draft Liquid Waste Management Rules 2024, Ch 1 3(d).
[4] Draft Liquid Waste Management Rules 2024, Ch 2 r 2 (c)(d).
[5] Draft Liquid Waste Management Rules 2024, Ch 2 r 3(3).
[6] Draft Liquid Waste Management Rules 2024, Ch 6 r 1.
[7] Draft Liquid Waste Management Rules 2024, Ch 6 r 1.
[8] Draft Liquid Waste Management Rules 2024, Ch 6 r 3.
[9] Draft Liquid Waste Management Rules 2024, Ch 6 r 5(5).
[10] Draft Liquid Waste Management Rules 2024, Ch 7 r 1-10.
[11] Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) SBM Water Plus Protocol (Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs) 24 May 2020 <http://swachhbharaturban.gov.in/writereaddata/WaterPlusBook24thMay20.pdf?id=7dywrgrvt2njvbjz>
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