The focus may be on reckless dumping of construction and demolition debris into Bellandur and Varthur lakes, but areas around most of the city’s lakes, especially those on the outskirts, are slowly being swallowed up by mounds of construction and demolition waste dumped into them.
- Kalkere, Rampura, Maragondanahalli, Yele Mallappa Chetty lake series
- Kaikondrahalli and Kasavanahalli lakes
- Bellandur and Varthur lakes Kundalahalli lake
- Bagmane lake, Sadaramangala lake
- Srigandhada Kaval and Narasappanahalli lakes in Peenya
- Avalahalli and Puttenahalli lakes in J.P. Nagar
- Vibhuthipura lake
Following the recent National Green Tribunal order that fixed a penalty of ₹5 lakh for each such instance of dumping in Bellandur lake, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has now set its sight on other lakes affected by the menace as well. The BBMP has now decided to levy a fine of ₹5 lakh on those dumping any waste in any city lake and not just in Bellandur lake.
With all earlier attempts to prevent waste and debris dumping into lakes and catch the culprits having failed, the BBMP has now opted for CCTV camera surveillance to catch the violators. As part of a special drive, the BBMP will now install CCTV cameras at the entry points of lakes affected by the debris menace, civic officials said. The civic body has installed three cameras at strategic points of Bellandur and Varthur lakes, following several complaints of debris dumping in the lake area.
Aim is encroachment
Sarfaraz Khan, Joint Commissioner, Solid Waste Management, BBMP, said debris dumping was the most common modus operandi to encroach on lake land. “There is a clear pattern — dump debris, flatten land, make a construction, get forged land documents, and file a case in the court. Debris dumping is observed mostly in areas with high land value,” he added.
Rampura–Kalkere–Maragondanahalli lakes along the Outer Ring Road; Kundalahalli, Kasavanahalli, and Kaikondrahalli lakes in the south-eastern parts of the city; and Narasappanahalli, Singapura, Srigandhada Kaval lakes in north Bengaluru are among those that have seen debris dumping in the past two years. “We are making a list of lakes where we will put up CCTV cameras and start booking cases against the owners of vehicles that dump debris,” he said.
The BBMP has booked cases against the owners of six trucks that dumped debris in Varthur lake area in the past fortnight. Each of them will be fined ₹5 lakh. In two other cases, the civic body fined a garbage contractor in Varthur for dumping solid waste into Varthur lake and a medical centre after its biomedical waste was found in Avalahalli lake, J.P. Nagar.
Ramprasad, lake conservation activist, hoped that the hefty penalty would act as a deterrent for dumping of waste and debris. “But the CCTV cameras by themselves will not solve any issue. There has to be close monitoring of the feed. The local communities have to be roped in to alert the officials of any truck movement,” he said.
KSPCB cracks down on industries
Expanding its actions beyond Bellandur lake, the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) has issued closure notices to 46 industries in and around the city.
The number of industries — where inspections have found STPs to be non-compliant — in the Bellandur catchment area has gone up to 30, with a further 67 industries remaining under the scanner.
Meanwhile, 10 industries which were found to be polluting the Vrishabhavati valley have also been asked to close. On the outskirts of the city, six industries, including five dyeing units, have been issued closure notices.
