New Delhi, Aug. 5 -- India's cities are generating far more sewage than they can treat; with an estimated 52,644 million litres per day (MLD) of sewage against an installed treatment capacity of 31,885 MLD, leaving a treatment gap of more than 20,700 MLD, a parliamentary standing committee report tabled on Tuesday said.

It warned that inadequate treatment capacity, weak operation and maintenance (O&M) and poor wastewater reuse continue to undermine urban sanitation.

The committee has also flagged the issue of capacity often failing to translate into effective sanitation outcomes. The report said a third-party survey of over 1,000 plants revealed that only 51% of STPs comply with 2015 discharge standards and a mere 15% meet the more stri...