BENGALURU: The Justice Santhosh Hegde Committee, constituted by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to monitor the rejuvenation of Bellandur and Varthur lakes, held talks with civic agencies in the city on Thursday to discuss various steps that could be taken to deweed the lakes before the monsoon.
Justice Hegde told The New Indian Express that a proposal had been mooted to get rid of the weeds in the lakes, by stopping the inflow of untreated water into it. “However, lake experts felt that if that was done, there would be a terrible stench from the lakes for at least a week. We want to consult residents in the vicinity of the lakes if they can tolerate the odour if that step is taken,” he said. Meanwhile, new sewage treatment plants are expected to be ready by 2020.
The NGT, had insisted on de-weeding the lakes.“A circular will be issued to the public about the proposal or the idea floated through the media so that they can share their opinions on the issue,” the former Lokayukta said.
The committee has also proposed to connect a 35 MLD capacity STP at Agara to the Anekal MI pipeline for flow of treated water as the STPs location currently hinders flow into the lake system. A Detailed Project Report is being prepared and a draft copy is expected from the BBMP. The next meeting of the committee is scheduled for May 25.