After digging up Puttenahalli lake, BBMP asks for permission

Bengaluru: Two weeks after allowing sewage to flow into Puttenahalli Lake and more than a week after illegally digging up the walking path to lay two pipelines for sewage and stormwater, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) submitted a letter to the Forest Department on Thursday, seeking permission for the project.

The lake was declared a bird conservation reserve after spending crores of rupees to clean up the lake bed and years of work by the Yelahanka-Puttenahalli Lake Bird Conservation Trust. Since then, more than 135 species of birds have been documented at the lake.

The BBMP had built a network of stormwater drains (SWD) that stopped near the northern boundary of the lake. However, these drains also carried sewage from northern and western neighbourhoods, which gushed into the lake during the heavy rains in the last two weeks of May.

Facing criticism over the sewage flow, the BBMP had devised a plan to channel the sewage into a pipeline under the walking path to a nearby sewage treatment plant. The Bengaluru Urban forest division had declined the proposal, noting that permission had to be obtained under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. Sources stated that the permission must come from the state board of wildlife.

Nevertheless, the BBMP proceeded with the project, digging up the walking path to lay large sewage pipelines. This action prompted Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) Subhash Malkhede to write to the BBMP chief commissioner, noting that such works would be in direct violation of the law.

On Thursday, the Additional Chief Secretary of the Forest, Ecology, and Environment Department, N Manjunath Prasad, convened a meeting of officials from the forest department and the BBMP, during which the chief engineer of the Palike submitted a request for permission to dig up the walking path.

An activist, who has been documenting the violation, said the BBMP’s actions blatantly disregarded the law. “They not only violated the law but also took their own time to address it. One week after receiving a warning from none other than the chief wildlife warden, the BBMP chief commissioner responded through a chief engineer. This reflects the government’s commitment to conservation. It remains to be seen whether the Forest Department will require the BBMP to clean up the lake or merely grant permission to continue digging,” he noted.

Responding to a question, Malkhede confirmed that he had received the request. “I received the request today (Thursday). We will review it and make a decision on the matter, including the restoration of the lake by removing the sewage,” he said.