Residential Training on Onsite Bulk Institutional Sewage Management

Date: July 28–31, 2026

The four-day residential training program on Onsite Bulk Sewage Management was conducted from July 28-31, 2026, at Anil Agarwal Environment Training Institute (AAETI), Nimli, Alwar district, Rajasthan. The training was designed to capacitate officials from Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) and institutions to design, operate and sustain compliant onsite sewage treatment systems with effective reuse and cost efficiency. 25 participants from nine states - Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Assam, Rajasthan, Kerala, Delhi and Madhya Pradesh - attended the program.

Day 1 of the training began with an orientation and ice-breaking session, followed by a pre-assessment quiz and a group discussion on the roadblocks to reuse of treated wastewater.

Swati Bhatia, Deputy Program Manager, CSE introduced the participants to the different types of sanitation systems used in urban areas, and to decentralized, nature-based approaches to onsite wastewater treatment. 

Rajendra Mohan Bhardwaj, Retd. Additional Director & Head, Water Quality Management, CPCB during his first session on the national policy landscape covered the key missions and regulatory frameworks governing onsite sewage management,

The day ended with Prof. R. Rajagopalan, Retd Prof IRMA, from Bangalore talking about  Bangalore’s policy journey and L&T apartments -a private residential township’s journey towards reuse of treated water and saving on freshwater usage and the cost involved thereby. 

Day 2 started with a campus visit which gave participants first-hand exposure to the nature-based treatment and rainwater harvesting systems installed at AAETI.

The training then moved into the technical aspects of system design with Ram Anugraha Narayan a Senior Consultant who reviewed available treatment technologies, their capital and operating costs, common failure modes, and how a campus water balance is used to validate treatment plant sizing. Participants worked through design calculations for a mechanical treatment process and compared nature-based and mechanical technology options through a group activity and presentation.

Day 3 sessions taken up by Rajarsshi Banerjee, Director, EML, CSEcovered water quality parameters and applicable discharge and reuse standards, supported by a visit to the in-house testing laboratory. Kamal Tiwari, Director and CEO, Santosh Kumar, Manager Construction & Maintenance. Daiki Axis India Pvt LTD talked about the operation, maintenance and troubleshooting of onsite systems, drawing on case studies from Johkasou technology.Saarthak Chopra, Design to Occupancy, Jaipur talked about the reuse of treated water and sludge, cost–benefit considerations, andVikash Agarwal,

Director, RS Traders Private Limited, Guwahati addressed the gaps and challenges in implementing onsite treatment at residential scale.

The program closed with a site visit to an operational onsite sewage treatment system at a Resident Welfare Association, where participants interacted with plant operators and facility managers on real operation and maintenance challenges, followed by a post-training assessment, feedback session and certificate distribution.