Case has been registered against officials who were allegedly responsible for pollution of Khandige lake.
Credit: DH file Photo
Mangaluru: The Upa Lokayukta Justice B Veerappa has directed the DK Deputy Commissioner, Mangaluru Police Commissioner and Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) Commissioner to take action to prevent the pollution of Khandige lake caused by contaminated water released from private institute and the sewage treatment plant (STP) of the Mangaluru City Corporation.
The Upa Lokayukta has also instructed that a separate compliance report be submitted on this matter.
Earlier, the Karnataka Lokayukta had registered a suo motu case against nine officials who were allegedly indirectly responsible for the pollution of the Khandige lake. Expressing deep dissatisfaction over the responses submitted by these officials during the hearing, the Upa Lokayukta warned that strict action would be taken during the next hearing. The next hearing is scheduled for December 20.
The Upa Lokayukta has ordered the Assistant Commissioner and the Assistant Commissioner of Police to personally inspect the location. They must monitor whether the officials responsible for maintaining the cleanliness of the river are performing their duties properly and submit a separate report on this.
The Upa Lokayukta further directed that the AC, ACP, and MCC engineers—Jnanesh, Karthik Shetty, and Yatheesh MS—be included as respondents, and notices be issued to the concerned officials.
A complaint had been filed by Sukesh Shetty alleging that wastewater from the educational institution and untreated sewage from the STP within the MCC limits were being discharged into the Khandige lake. On March 7 and 8, Upa Lokayukta Justice B Veerappa visited Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts.
After inspecting the area, he directed the Mangaluru Lokayukta Police Superintendent and Deputy Superintendent to conduct a detailed investigation and submit a report.
Despite the water body being polluted, no action had been taken, leading the Lokayukta police to register a suo motu case on March 24 against nine officials and staff members.
The Lokayukta police later submitted a report, which stated “Untreated wastewater is being directly discharged into the lake from the STP of an educational institution and from the 16.5 MLD capacity MCC sewage treatment plant located in Madhavanagar, Surathkal. This is the primary reason for the lake’s pollution. Survey records show that 4 acres and 11 cents of land in Survey No 47/1A1 in Surathkal village is classified as a government stream. During the Revenue Department’s inspection, it was found that a private college had encroached upon 23 cents of this stream area within the 3.88-acre plot in Survey No 47/1A1P1.”