Skip to main content

Wanton neglect: Actions taken to restore Bengaluru lakes found to be superficial

The Bengaluru Environment Trust (BET), in its report “Citizen’s Agenda for Bellandur/Varthur Catchment”, has found that the plan to rejuvenate Bellandur, Varthur and Agara lakes in Bengaluru is “ad-hoc, illogical and not supported by well documented data and scientific facts.” Following is an excerpt from the BET report, which is actually an official submission to government bodies and the National Green Tribunal (NGT) appointed monitoring committee to oversee the rejuvenation process:
*** 
Actions taken by the government to restore Bellandur, Varthur and Agara lakes is found to be superficial and leaves the citizens wanting for more. In-depth analysis of the government’s submissions to National Green Tribunal over the past few years revealed continued wanton neglect of responsibilities, eluding courts with inaccurate facts and escaping public scrutiny with non-transparent operations.
Treated wastewater is a precious commodity in today’s times. In the absence of treated wastewater policy and the necessary data to make informed decisions, injudicious allocation of treated wastewater to Minor irrigation can leave the Bellandur and Varthur lakes with scant or no water, turning these large lakes into small ponds. The government must prepare treated wastewater utilization plan for Bellandur/Varthur catchment, with a very clear policy decision to use the treated wastewater to maintain the lakes of Bengaluru up to its brim.
Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) is using the oldest trick in the book -- Cherry picking data to show compliance to NGT. It must stop doing that. The existence of four million liters per day (MLD) Madivala sewage treatment plant (STP), so far hidden from NGT, must be included. Important transparency and accountability metrics like STP operating capacities, wastewater treatment efficiencies, flow levels in the raja kaluves and sewer trunk lines, sewage transportation efficiencies, most of which is generated, is not used adequately and must be used for decision making and compliance monitoring.
Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP)’s epic negligence is palpable from its inability in putting simple interventions like waste and silt trapping structures in the drains. Despite being flogged from many sides – high court, NGT, public – it is unable to clean up solid waste in the drains and clear encrochments. Appropriate silt and waste trapping structures at regular distances, with daily removal and disposal of solid waste, must be immediately done in accordance with law. Exact area and location of buffer zones, available for bio-diversity park plantation must be immediately determined and plantation must start as soon as possible.
Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) has self-diminished its role to issuing notices. The debate on hazardous nature of the slush and silt has continued for years till today while KSPCB should have put that to rest a long time ago. The real time monitors show wide fluctuations in water quality, which are unequivocally indicators of frequent episodic industrial discharges. KSPCB must wake up from slumber, investigate and find the sources. The issue of illegal industries is far from over. There is a need for speed in stopping the operations of illegal industries.
Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA)’s one-time rejuvenation is a complete mess. It’s ad-hoc , piecemeal and impractical nature of work has worsened pollution of the lakebed and resulted in infructuous expenses. Ground truthing reveals that dredged muck dumped in mounds is rotting on the lakebed creating a hazard to the people around and also polluting the lake. Until the disposal plan is finalized, the dredging must stop. In terms of silt disposal, an astounding 77% of the desilting cost (i.e. Rs 131 crores) is allocated for disposal of silt to a quarry 25 kms away. A cost-benefit analysis must be done to determine if the disposal costs are justified. Perhaps desilting the drains leading to the lakes, is a better alternative.
More important than the one-time rejuvenation is the lake specific maintenance policy. Maintenance plan for Bellandur, Varthur and Agara must be developed at the earliest, clearly documenting the execution of maintenance activities with proper timing and with adequate resources esp. budget.
Several court orders -- NGT O.A No 593/2017 , NGT O.A. No 804/2017, NGT O.A No 111/2020 , High Court W.P No. 817/2008, High Court W.P No. 24739/2012 , High Court W.P No. 38401/2014 -- are relevant and those orders must be followed.
Our analysis has identified 31 agenda points on which government action is needed. We earnestly request the government to wake-up from its slumber and get into meaningful action.
---
Click here to read the full report

Comments

Post a Comment

TRENDING

Modi’s Israel visit strengthened Pakistan’s hand in US–Iran truce: Ex-Indian diplomat

By Jag Jivan   M. K. Bhadrakumar , a career diplomat with three decades of service in postings across the former Soviet Union, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Germany, and Turkey, has warned that the current truce in the US–Iran war is “fragile and ridden with contradictions.” Writing in his blog India Punchline , Bhadrakumar argues that while Pakistan has emerged as a surprising broker of dialogue, the durability of the ceasefire remains uncertain.
Post a Comment
»

Manufacturing, services: India's low-skill, middle-skill labour remains underemployed

By Francis Kuriakose* The Indian economy was in a state of deceleration well before Covid-19 made its impact in early 2020. This can be inferred from the declining trends of four important macroeconomic variables that indicate the health of the economy in the last quarter of 2019.
Post a Comment
»

Why Indo-Pak relations have been on 'knife’s edge' , hostilities may remain for long

By Utkarsh Bajpai*  The past few decades have seen strides being made in all aspects of life – from sticks and stones to weaponry. The extreme case of this phenomenon has been nuclear weapons. The menace caused by nuclear weapons in the past is unforgettable. Images of Hiroshima and Nagasaki from 1945 come to mind, after the United States dropped two atomic bombs on the cities.
Post a Comment
»

Incarceration of Prof Saibaba 'revives' the question: What is crime, who is criminal?

By Kunal Pant* In 2016, a Supreme Court Judge asked the state of Maharashtra, “Do you want to extract a pound of flesh?” The statement was directed against the state for contesting the bail plea of Delhi University Professor GN Saibaba. Saibaba was arrested in 2014, a justification for which was to prevent him from committing what the police called “anti-national activities.”
Post a Comment
»

Food security? Gujarat govt puts more than 5 lakh ration cards in the 'silent' category

By Pankti Jog* A new statistical report uploaded by the Gujarat government on the national food security portal shows that ensuring food security for the marginalized community is still not a priority of the state. The statistical report, uploaded on December 24, highlights many weaknesses in implementing the National Food Security Act (NFSA) in state.
Post a Comment
»

The soundtrack of resistance: How 'Sada Sada Ya Nabi' is fueling the Iran war

​ By Syed Ali Mujtaba*  ​The Persian track “ Sada Sada Ya Nabi ye ” by Hossein Sotoodeh has taken the world by storm. This viral media has cut across linguistic barriers to achieve cult status, reaching over 10 million views. The electrifying music and passionate rendition by the Iranian singer have resonated across the globe, particularly as the high-intensity military conflict involving Iran entered its second month in March 2026.
Post a Comment
»

Beneath the stone: Revisiting the New Jersey mandir controversy

By Rajiv Shah  A recent report published in the British media outlet The Guardian , titled “Workers carved the largest modern Hindu temple in the west. Now, some have incurable lung disease,” took me back to my visits to the New Jersey mandir —first in 2022, when it was still under construction, though parts of it were open to visitors, and again in 2024, after its completion.
Post a Comment
»

Civil society flags widespread violations of land acquisition Act before Parliamentary panel

By Jag Jivan   Civil society organisations and stakeholders from across India have presented stark evidence before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj , alleging systemic violations of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (RFCTLARR) Act, 2013 , particularly in Scheduled Areas and tribal regions.
Post a Comment
»

Ecologist Dr. S. Faizi urges UN intervention to save 35 million Gulf migrants

By A Representative   Renowned ecologist and veteran United Nations negotiator Dr. S. Faizi has issued an urgent appeal to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, calling for immediate diplomatic intervention to halt escalating conflict in the Persian Gulf. In a formal letter copied to several UN missions, Faizi warned that the lives and livelihoods of 35 million migrant workers—who comprise the vast majority of the population in many Gulf cities—are facing an unprecedented existential crisis.
Post a Comment
»