99 apartments letting sewage into two lakes
, ET Bureau|
Feb 13, 2018, 10.30 AM IST
For the 99 apartments in the Bellandur catchment area that are facing scrutiny for letting sewage into Bellandur and Varthur lakes, December 2018 is the deadline to set up their own sewage treatment plants (STPs).
The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) has already begun issuing show-cause notices to these apartments, calling them for personal hearings and directing them to construct STPs within a year. If they fail to have their STPs ready, they will face criminal action.
How these apartments escaped the radar all these years remains a mystery. It was only after the National Green Tribunal took up the issue with the state government that the shocker came to light. An official from KSPCB admitted that it must be probed.
The KSPCB is yet to make public the list of 99 apartments that have neither their own STP nor underground drainage connection. Officials say they are mostly old apartments which have been letting untreated sewage into the lake.
Srikanth Narasimhan, general secretary of Bangalore Apartment's Federation, a body with over 170 apartments under its umbrella, said that while the federation is not on the side of polluters and wants all the apartments to either have a functioning STP or UGD network, the issue seems to be much bigger than it appears.
"It is illegal to let untreated sewage into the lake. But it appears that the apartment associations are made to pay for no fault of theirs. Builders violating rules at the time of construction and getting approvals by hoodwinking the residents must be inquired into," Narasimhan said.
The federation has urged all apartment associations that have been issued show-cause notices to unite and take up the issue with CREDAI and government agencies. "We should ensure that builders do not go scotfree and such incidents do not recur," Narasimhan said.
Nagesh Aras, an environmentalist and a resident of Bellandur, pointed out that the problem started right from the beginning when different government agencies issued 'no objection certificates' to builders. "Before getting commencement certificates from the BBMP, builders should obtain NoCs from seven different agencies including the BWSSB. Issuing an NoC is equivalent to issuing permission for destruction," Aras said.
For instance, he said, the BWSSB issues a vague NoC which does not guarantee water and UGD connection to the applicant. "It only assures of a connection depending on water availability during the time of occupancy. There was less awareness about STPs a few years ago. Hence it was quite natural for these buildings to have neither STP nor UGD network," Aras observed.
KSPCB chairman Lakshman said that the board's immediate priority was to ensure the apartments have modular STPs by the end of December. "We would want all 99 apartments to have STPs as per the NGT order," he said.
The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) has already begun issuing show-cause notices to these apartments, calling them for personal hearings and directing them to construct STPs within a year. If they fail to have their STPs ready, they will face criminal action.
How these apartments escaped the radar all these years remains a mystery. It was only after the National Green Tribunal took up the issue with the state government that the shocker came to light. An official from KSPCB admitted that it must be probed.
The KSPCB is yet to make public the list of 99 apartments that have neither their own STP nor underground drainage connection. Officials say they are mostly old apartments which have been letting untreated sewage into the lake.
Srikanth Narasimhan, general secretary of Bangalore Apartment's Federation, a body with over 170 apartments under its umbrella, said that while the federation is not on the side of polluters and wants all the apartments to either have a functioning STP or UGD network, the issue seems to be much bigger than it appears.
"It is illegal to let untreated sewage into the lake. But it appears that the apartment associations are made to pay for no fault of theirs. Builders violating rules at the time of construction and getting approvals by hoodwinking the residents must be inquired into," Narasimhan said.
The federation has urged all apartment associations that have been issued show-cause notices to unite and take up the issue with CREDAI and government agencies. "We should ensure that builders do not go scotfree and such incidents do not recur," Narasimhan said.
Nagesh Aras, an environmentalist and a resident of Bellandur, pointed out that the problem started right from the beginning when different government agencies issued 'no objection certificates' to builders. "Before getting commencement certificates from the BBMP, builders should obtain NoCs from seven different agencies including the BWSSB. Issuing an NoC is equivalent to issuing permission for destruction," Aras said.
For instance, he said, the BWSSB issues a vague NoC which does not guarantee water and UGD connection to the applicant. "It only assures of a connection depending on water availability during the time of occupancy. There was less awareness about STPs a few years ago. Hence it was quite natural for these buildings to have neither STP nor UGD network," Aras observed.
KSPCB chairman Lakshman said that the board's immediate priority was to ensure the apartments have modular STPs by the end of December. "We would want all 99 apartments to have STPs as per the NGT order," he said.
