Cut water, power supply to errant flats near lake: Green tribunal

The National Green Tribunal on Tuesday gave the Karnataka government 10 days to submit a detailed action plan to complete the cleaning up of Bellandur lake in Bengaluru.

The tribunal also directed the authorities to disconnect water and electricity supply to apartments near the lake that had failed to instal sewage treatment plants.

The principal bench, headed by Justice Swatanter Kumar, also sought a report on steps taken to desilt the lake, upgrade sewage treatment plants, and prevent untreated water from entering the lake.

Monitor apartments
Hearing petitions filed by Namma Bengaluru Foundation and Rajya Sabha member Kupendra Reddy, the tribunal also directed the government to monitor residential complexes to ensure they were disposing of solid waste properly.

It directed the issue of notices to all 400 apartments near the lake in this regard. The bench instructed officials present at the hearing to work jointly and prepare the action plan.

Mahendra Jain, additional chief secretary and head of the urban development department, Seema Garg, chief executive officer, Karnataka Lake Conservation and Development Authority, and Manjunath Prasad, commissioner, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, were at the hearing on Tuesday.

The bench directed all of them, and also the chairman of the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board, to be present for the next hearing on September 8.

DH News Service