Following the "heavy frothing" of the river and the reservoir two weeks ago, the southern bench of NGT reopened the case. (Representative image)
Credit: DH File Photo
Bengaluru: Days after the frothing of Dakshina Pinakini river and Kelavarapalli reservoir near Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) reopened a four-year-old case on Bengaluru's wastewater polluting the river and noted that the failure to comply with its directions led to the latest incident.
Dakshina Pinakini, known as Thenpennai in Tamil Nadu, originates near Nandi Hills and flows through Chikkaballapur and Kolar districts before entering Anekal taluk in Bengaluru urban where the storm water from Bengaluru drains into the river.
The NGT took suo motu note of the incident for the first time in July 2020, following media reports of frothing due to alleged discharge of chemical effluents and domestic sewage. After a joint committee report pointed to the problems, including liquid and solid waste management in Bengaluru, the tribunal gave directions to Pollution Control Board (PCBs) of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu as well as the Centre and disposed of the matter in June 2021.
Following the "heavy frothing" of the river and the reservoir two weeks ago, the southern bench of NGT reopened the case. "If only the state authorities have complied with the directions issued by this tribunal, recurrence of the incidents would not have occurred," a bench of Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana and expert member Satyagopal Korlapati noted.
The bench issued notice to the chief secretaries of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu government as well as the PCBs in the two states, seeking a report on the incident.
In its order on July 20, 2020, the tribunal directed authorities in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu to "ascertain the sources of pollution and take action". It also set up a joint committee with the CPCB as the nodal agency. The committee was told to submit long and short term action plans to protect the water body.
The joint committee surveyed the basins in the dry season of September 2020 and could not find major violations in Kolar and Chikkaballapur due to lack of water flow. However, in Bengaluru, the water in the drains downstream of Agara lake were found carrying domestic sewage and solid waste while the bypass in Bellandur lake sent raw sewage to the river.
"Major source of pollution to (the) river appear to be from untreated/partially treated sewage from Bangalore," the committe had said.