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A little more than half of all Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) in the city are estimated to be functioning according to norms. In the past two months, the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) formed four teams to inspect and monitor STPs at large apartments (with more than 100 dwelling units), malls and large commercial spaces where permission for treatment for water had been taken. The move came following the severity of pollution in lakes in the city, with the frothing and foaming (and even the fire in the foam earlier in May) spurring the regulatory body to action. Nearly 43 STPs were inspected and looked at, of which 22 were found to be non-compliant. Officials say the defaulters seem to more in the out-lying areas, where underground sewage lines were yet to be laid. The flouting of the rules could be relatively minor such as not installing flow meters, but most were also found to discharge raw sewage without effective treatment or even completely bypassing treatment process.