Conservationists and citizens point out that the government should now stop fooling people about the rejuvenation of Bellandur lake and make its reports on the progress on reviving the lake public.
Reacting to the hearing on the Bellandur lake revival before the NGT on Tuesday, Prof T V Ramachandra, Co-ordinator, Energy and Wetlands Research Group, said, “It is very unfortunate. Only weeding has been done. Encroachment has not been cleared, solid waste and construction debris are still being dumped in the lake bed and inlets. Though a 60 mld treatment plant was recently inaugurated, the water quality is still the same. Frothing has not come down,” he said.
Members of the expert committee point out that short term measures which were listed out a year ago have not been implemented.
“The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) is still clearing weeds. The apartments continue to let untreated water into the lake. The water quality is not regularly monitored and details are also not shared. Other stakeholders have also not worked on reducing the velocity of water at weirs to reduce frothing,” said an expert committee member on condition of anonymity.
Sridhar Pabbisetty, CEO of Namma Bengaluru Foundation and petitioner said the arguments in the court show that the government is still not in control of the process of rejuvenating the lake.
“It shows the government’s lack of sincerity in implementing the previous NGT orders. Different arms of the government contradict each other on ground. Hence, the day-to-day plans and developments should be put in public domain so that citizens can evaluate and hold the government accountable,” he said.
The expert committee members now hope that the NGT would question the state government on why the BDA is seeking the help of other agencies when they are unable to follow the expert committee’s directions.
“The BDA and urban development department (UDD) have not consulted the expert committee before seeking help from outsiders. The microbes introduced by outsourced experts could have an adverse effect on the environment as the organisms and microbes have not been studied,” added the committee member.
‘Negligence exposed’
Rajya Sabha member and Founder Trustee, Namma Bengaluru Foundation, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, said the NGT hearing has exposed the government’s negligence about following court orders.
“CEO of Karnataka Lake Conservation Development Authority (KLCDA) refused to support the state government counsel’s contentions about work done on the lake following courts orders,’’ he said.
DH News Service