Ministry of Environment Introduces Draft Liquid Waste Management Rules 2024

On 07^th October 2024, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), vide Notification No. SO4341(E), notified the Draft Liquid Waste Management Rules 2024 (‘Draft Rules’) to address the management of liquid waste collection, treatment, reuse, and disposal as a whole and in each of their individual aspects. As proposed, the draft rules were to take effect from 1^st October 2025; readers should confirm the current status with the ministry, as the timeline for finalisation has moved since this notification was first issued.

Scope of the Draft Liquid Waste Management Rules

The draft liquid waste management rules cover the following:

• Liquid waste minimisation at source.
• Managing the collection of liquid waste.
• Treatment of liquid waste through ETPs, CETPs, and faecal sludge treatment facilities.
• Reuse/utilisation of treated wastewater or sludge/faecal sludge, and discharge/disposal of the remaining treated wastewater or sludge/faecal sludge.

Applicability of the Liquid Waste Management Rules

The draft rules apply to:

• Urban and rural local bodies.
• Public authorities, including state pollution control boards and public wastewater management authorities.
• Relevant entities managing or generating liquid waste, including bulk water users and industries.

Key Provisions under the Draft Rules

The draft rules establish responsibilities for various stakeholders:

• Duties on the wastewater generator, bulk users of water, operators of wastewater treatment facilities, and local bodies, including public wastewater management authorities, including preparing an action plan for the environmentally sound management of wastewater in their jurisdiction, covering collection, treatment, reuse, and utilisation/disposal.
• Duties on the user of an onsite sanitation system, operators of faecal sludge treatment facilities, and local bodies, including developing an action plan for environmentally sound faecal sludge management and a monitoring framework using IT-based tools for collection, transport, treatment, and disposal.
• Treatment and reuse obligations for industry, including the Extended User Responsibility (EUR) Certificate for wastewater treatment, a framework modelled on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) under the plastic waste rules, though EUR and EPR remain distinct regulatory obligations.
• General obligations for sludge/faecal sludge handling entities, including wastewater treatment facilities, ETPs, CETPs, and faecal sludge treatment facilities.
• Implementation of a centralised online portal, imposition of Environmental Compensation, and filing of annual returns, including an online grievance redressal mechanism that local bodies must report on annually via the centralised portal.
• Defined roles for MoEFCC, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, the Department of Fertilisers, state/UT governments, and State Pollution Control Boards.

Schedules under the Liquid Waste Management Rules

Schedule I: Compliance Timeline for Local Bodies

Local bodies, including public wastewater authorities, must meet the following population-tiered deadlines for wastewater and faecal sludge management action plans:

Schedule II: Industries Identified for Reuse of Wastewater

Industries required to follow wastewater reuse provisions include:

• Thermal Power plants
• Pulp and Paper
• Textile Industry
• Iron and Steel industry

Forms and Reporting under the Draft Rules

The draft rules include the following forms:

• Form 1(A): Application to be submitted by bulk user of water.
• Form 1(B): Format for grant of registration to user by the State Pollution Control Board.
• Form 1(C): Format for the submission of the Extended User Responsibility plan by the bulk user.
• Form 2(A): Application to be submitted by owner of a liquid waste treatment facility for grant/renewal of registration.
• Form 2(B): Format for grant/renewal of registration to the owner of a liquid waste treatment facility by State Pollution Control Boards/Pollution Control Committees.
• Form 3: Annual returns to be submitted by bulk user by 30th June of the following financial year.
• Form 4: Quarterly return to be submitted by the liquid waste treatment facility to State Pollution Control Boards/Pollution Control Committees by the end of the month succeeding the end of the quarter.
• Form 5: Form of appeal.

How MBG Can Help

Bulk water users and treatment facility operators covered under the Draft Rules will need to register on the centralised portal, prepare EUR compliance plans, and set up the annual and quarterly reporting these forms require well before enforcement begins. MBG’s ESG advisory team helps organisations map their obligations under the Draft Rules against existing environmental compliance processes and prepares the documentation needed for registration and ongoing returns. For related enforcement context, see how MoEF is streamlining the process for addressing water pollution violations, and for MoEFCC’s parallel solid waste track, see the Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules 2024.

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Source and Reference

Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Notification No. SO4341(E) dated 07.10.2024, ‘Liquid Waste Management Rules 2024’. Link: Official Notification