BENGALURU:
National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) chairman
Justice H L Dattu on Friday said the commission may take
suo motto cognisance of the issue of
untreated water being released through
Koramangala-Challaghatta Valley (KC Valley) to water bodies in Kolar.
Dattu, who chaired a two-day open house and camp sitting in the city, told reporters that releasing untreated water to lakes in Kolar amounts to
human rights violation and NHRC would take up the case based on media reports and complaints if anybody comes forward to file.
“While the commission take suo motto cognizance based on media reports, we would consider taking up if any written complaint comes forth,” Dattu said at a press conference after the commission’s open house. “We appeal to people to forward the media reports about the issue.”
The state government with much fanfare launched the
KC Valley project, on June 7, that envisages releasing of treated water from the highly polluted Bellanduru Lake in Bengaluru to the water bodies in Kolar district. The project aimed at filling 126 lakes in Kolar has a tow-prong objective of improving water table in the arid Kolar district as well as sprucing up Bellandur lake. However, within days after the project was launched, people of Kolar stated complaining of contaminated water was being released to the lakes such as Lakshmisagar Lake and the water bodies were foaming like Bellandur Lake.
The NHRC took up 206 pending cases before the commission during the open house of which 106 cases were closed.
The cases the commission took up included a child’s electrocution in which the commission recommended Rs. 5 lakh monetary compensation, a mob attack on a Tanzanian woman in Bengaluru in which the NHRC got her Rs. 1 lakh compensation.
“The Tanzanian woman has left the country. The compensation money has been deposited into Syndicate Bank account and the woman is allowed to withdraw it,” Dattu said.
Atrocities of Dalits, an illegal quarrying in Shivamogga, rescue of slave farmers and illegal waste dump in Mysuru, police atrocities on Villagers in Belagavi, contaminated water supply in Shivamogga are among other cases came up before the commission.
Dattu said the state government has filed action taken reports (ATR) in the cases.
