As the CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) has recommended a complete survey of Vrishabhavathi river valley, the High Court of Karnataka on Tuesday directed the State government to take up the work through revenue authorities.
The court said that the survey, as indicated in the report of the NEERI, should be of the whole stretch of the river to check for illegal constructions and encroachments on the banks from the Bengaluru urban area until the limits of the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice Suraj Govindaraj issued the direction while hearing a PIL petition filed by Githa Misra, a resident, on disappearance of the Vrishabhavathi valley, and pollution of river water and connecting drains.
The bench directed the Additional Chief Secretary, Urban Development Department to convene a meeting of all the authorities concerned for taking steps to implement the recommendations of the NEERI, which was appointed on the direction of the court.
“The survey should include complete details of illegal encroachments, buffer area to be maintained, stormwater drain, agricultural runoff, actual boundaries of all the lakes, and survey number of villages,” the NEERI has said in its interim report.
Also, a buffer zone of 30 metres for the lake and 15 metres for the drains should be demarcated in the survey map to avoid any future encroachments. The map should also delineate the Full Tank Level boundary of the lake; and should be available for the common public, the NEERI had recommended.
Garbage & effluents
Pointing out that the entire river, including various drains, were filled with all types of solid waste, including plastic, the report said that ‘it is like that any waste that is too inconvenient to be thrown anywhere else finds its way into the Vrishabhavathi river’. The NEERI attributed this to poor infrastructure and waste management in Bengaluru.
“In order to rejuvenate Vrishabhavathi river, the two main issues of disposal of effluents (both domestic and industrial wastewater) and solid waste are to be addressed on priority basis,” NEERI has said.
Pointing out that there are about 145 industries, out of which 29 are under red category, 43 in orange and 72 in green category, on the river valley, NEERI has stated that these industries generate effluent of 8.23 MLD and hazardous waste of 2,680.152 tonnes per annum.
