In 2024, a stormwater drain built to carry floodwaters from layouts in areas surrounding the waterbody had dumped millions of litres of sewage into the lake.
Credit: DH FILE PHOTO
Bengaluru: In a major decision, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Friday permitted the construction of a sewer line along a 600-metre stretch of the Yelahanka Puttenahalli Lake Bird Conservation Reserve.
The tribunal had, in June, while hearing an application by the Yelahanka Puttenahalli Lake and Bird Conservation Trust, stayed the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and the Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) from constructing a pipeline on a walking path of the lake, a land classified as 'tank' area.
A stormwater drain (SWD) built to carry floodwaters from layouts in areas surrounding the lake had dumped millions of litres of sewage into the lake last year. Following this, the BBMP and the BWSSB had proposed to build two pipes through the lake to carry the runoff and sewage to a treatment plant.
The trust had opposed any disturbance to the lake area and also pointed to the absence of a detailed project report (DPR) or a technical plan. "No technical plan, drawing, or DPR has been produced by the authorities because the technical enviro-engineering aspects of this project have not at all been properly considered," it said.
During the hearing on Friday, a bench of Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana and expert member Satyagopal Korlapati cited the "urgency" to prevent sewage from entering the lake during the upcoming monsoon while modifying its earlier order. "The order passed by this tribunal, which stayed the construction of the sewer line in the impugned 600-metre stretch, is modified, and the authorities are permitted to construct the sewer line in the said stretch," it stated.
The bench clarified that this relaxation was temporary in nature. "However, it is clarified that the availability of alternative land will be examined in the main application, and therefore, the BWSSB cannot claim equity for the canal proposed in the impugned stretch," it added.
The tribunal further directed the BWSSB to ensure that the sewer lines proposed in the residential area are completed and that sewage does not enter the SWD.