Bengaluru: NGT order prompts Rs 967 cr grant for sewage and garbage management

Complying with the National Green Tribunal’s (NGT) order, a sum of Rs 967 crore has been sanctioned for clearing legacy waste (old landfills) and upgrading sewage treatment plants (STPs). The development comes five months after the NGT imposed compensation of Rs 2,900 crore on the state government for causing harm to the environment by not managing solid and liquid waste well.

According to the order issued in March this year, the state government plans to release the funds for undertaking compensatory measures in phases. The order, a copy of which has been accessed by DH, states that the sum of Rs 967 crore will be utilised from the special allocation given to Bengaluru in the state’s budget for this fiscal year.

The order also states that a bank account to be created in the name of Additional Chief Secretary of Urban Development department (UDD) for releasing payments while all the works will be routed through Chief Secretary. In its October 2022 order, the NGT had directed the government to create a centralized mechanism under Chief Secretary for undertaking compensation measures.

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Sources in the UDD said the funds will be used on two fronts. One, operationalising 13 STPs and upgrading four non-complying STPs to meet stipulated standards. Second, undertaking remediation of legacy waste.

Huge gap

Bengaluru was one among the many cities that were slapped with penalties under the ‘polluter pays’ principle. During the course of the hearing, the NGT found that Karnataka was processing only 9,153 tonnes of the 15,334 tonnes solid waste generated daily. The government had admitted that it was sending close to 6,181 tonnes per day of waste directly to landfills.

Similarly, the state was processing only 1,929 million liters of the 3,356 million liters of sewage generated per day. This means, around 1,421 million litres of sewage was polluting the water bodies, be it rivers or lakes.

Besides this, the government in its note to the NGT estimated the over 196 landfill sites across the state where legacy waste to the extent of 179.9 lakhs is dumped. The tribunal observed that these dumpsites in operation as well as older ones occupy a huge area of valuable public lands, resulting in air, water and land pollution and causing damage to the environment and public health.