Notice to State, Centre on lake pollution
The High Court on Wednesday ordered notice to the Union and State governments in connection with the pollution of Bellandur lake in the City.
The petitioner, Kasu Venkata Rajagopala Reddy, a social worker from Bellandur, had moved the High Court seeking directions to the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) to prevent pollution of the lake.
The petitioner submitted that BWSSB had set up a 400-MLD Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) near the lake to prevent pollution.
However, the plant is not even functioning at half its capacity as just 200 MLD of water is being treated every day.
“The very purpose of establishing the plant has been defeated as the water released from it gets mixed with untreated water, increasing the pollution,” said Dhyan Chinappa, counsel for the petitioner.
The petitioner pointed out that the pollution in the lake is so high that water can neither be used for drinking nor for agriculture.
Construction workers who came in contact with water from this lake are suffering from scabby and swollen legs, he said.
He submitted that the pollution had harmed aquatic life and that the water quality had deteriorated.
Seeking directions to prevent further degradation of the water body, the petitioners sought directions to BWSSB to utilise the STP to its full capacity and set up an additional treatment plant.
The Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Vikramajit Sen and Justice B V Nagarathna ordered notice to the State government, BWSSB, Karnataka State Pollution Control Board, Lake Development Authority, Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and Union Ministry of Environment and Forests.
