BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday directed the state government not to restart pumping of treated water to Kolar and Chikkaballapur districts from the controversial KC Valley project. The court observed that there was nothing wrong with the project as it served several purposes, but there is a need to address basic questions on water quality first.
The project is aimed at filling the lakes of drought-hit Chikkaballapur and Kolar districts with treated water from the KC valley. However, the pumping of water was stopped from July 13, after froth was found in the water of Kolar’s Lakshmisagar lake. It was later discovered that chemical pollutants present in waters released from Bengaluru had reached that region too.
R Anjaneya Reddy earlier petitioned the High Court, seeking the court’s directions to the state to review the entire project and order a stay on the project till environment/social and health impact assessments were prepared.
After hearing the counsels of both the state and the petitioner, division bench Chief Justice Dinesh Maheshwari and Justice R Devdas gave an opportunity to the respondent state authorities to file an affidavit addressing basic questions related to quality of water in areas in question. Until then, the court said, the state government should not restart pumping the water to the threatened areas.
The court adjourned the hearing to August 1, 2018, while ordering to make Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) party to the petition.Earlier, while referring to the affidavit filed by the state along with the report of the Scientific Officer of the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB), the government advocate submitted that water was stopped from pumping from July 13, 2018, as Lakshmisagar lake started frothing after some quantity of untreated water entered its following heavy rain.
Taking serious objection to untreated water entering the lake, the court observed: “You (state government) are responsible for it. What kind of officers you have? Didn’t your officers have foresight that the water could enter the lake? This is something very strange...”
The petitioner’s counsel submitted that the inference drawn by the KSPCB was that the water quality index was ‘unsatisfactory’ after testing the water sample collected from Lakshmisagar lake. Then the government advocate submitted that the project was aimed to fill the lake with an intention to recharge groundwater and not to use it for agriculture purpose.
The petitioner’s counsel argued that the government advocate was misleading as there was no separate water for agriculture or domestic purpose. Bacteria of human excretion were also found more than the permissible limit in the water, the counsel said.
HEAVY METALS WITHIN PERMISSIBLE LIMITS
The state contended during the hearing that ` 970 crore was spent for the KC Valley project, which was conceived to fill 126 lakes in Kolar and Chikkaballapur districts. It also aimed to recharge the groundwater table in the districts, besides increasing forest cover. The presence of heavy metals was within permissible limits in the water pumped to lakes, the state informed.
WATER SUPPLIED APT FOR AGRI: KSPCB
KSPCB informed the court that the water supplied to the lakes met most of the parameters set by the Central government and the Environmental Protection Act, 1986. The analysis also showed that only nitrate nitrogen, which is beneficial for agriculture, exceeded the standards.