Bellandur: NGT directs state to ensure all industries, apartments set up STPs

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Thursday directed the Karnataka Government to ensure that all industries and residential apartments in the vicinity of Bellandur lake should install Sewage Treatment Plant (STP)s to prevent entry of polluted water to the lake.

The bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar, while asking the authorities to give sufficient time to both industrial units and residential apartments to set up the STPs said if they failed to set up the water treatment units, the authorities concern can take action against them by disconnecting their electricity and water supply and seal the polluting industries.

The bench also directed that the Joint Investigation Team comprising officials of Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB), Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) and Bengaluru Water Sewerage and Sanitation Board (BWSSB) to inspect all industries and residential apartments in the vicinity of the lake and submit the status report.

The tribunal also directed the KSPBC to collect water samples from the existing STPs and get the same inspected by Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru.
 
The bench also directed the Karnataka Government to submit reports with details such as—exact measure of each drain, its quantum and quality in all 17 inlets of Bellandur lake, actual details about level of Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) and other capacities of STPs as per the parameters prescribed by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), number of buildings, apartments, complexes located in Bellandur Lake vicinity, polluting industries shut down or sealed pursuant to tribunal's Thursday's order and a complete record of waste (both MSW and C&D) extracted from Bellandur Lake—  in the next hearing which is July 13.

The Bench also granted one more month time to clean the lake and submit a status report on next hearing. 

On February 20, the NGT had taken suo motu cognizance of media reports and photographs of the incident in which fire broke out in the Bengaluru lake and issued notices to the Union Environment Ministry and different agencies of the Karnataka government in the case asking them to submit reports about the steps taken to prevent such things.