BENGALURU: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Monday asked the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) to issue directions to 99 apartment complexes that are discharging sewage in Bellandur and Varthur lakes.The tribunal issued the direction during the hearing of the Bellandur lake fire case. It also instructed KSPCB to establish modular sewage treatment plants (STPs) within the available space without posing any threat to their structural safety.
NGT passed interim directions to the state authorities based on the action plan submitted in the court on Monday. The tribunal asked KSPCB to maintain strict vigilance with regard to industrial pollutants or effluent entering the lakes. It also directed the state government to remove the macrophytes (aquatic plants) from Bellandur lake, as it believed these plants to be the cause of the fire. It also asked them to submit a compliance report to the tribunal every month.
The tribunal has also instructed Indian Institute of Science (IISC) to conduct a study of lifecycle of macrophytes and their biological removal. The state agencies have to submit the first compliance report during the next hearing on February 28.