BENGALURU: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) in New Delhi on Wednesday asked the state government to present a time-bound plan to solve the Bellandur Lake issue before its next hearing on January 29.
The lake attained notoriety again when it caught fire last Friday (January 19). The NGT was hearing a petition filed by the Namma Bengaluru Foundation (NBF) in the aftermath of the recent fire.
The tribunal has asked the state government to give a detailed report that would specify a step-by-step approach on how it plans to remove silt, block entry points of untreated sewage, clean up the lake and upgrade its Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs), according to Saransh Jain, counsel for the Foundation.
The state government counsel argued that miscreants had set it on fire and it was not caused by pollution.
Sridhar Pabbisetty, CEO of NBF, filed an impleading application with NGT last week after the lake caught fire.
Pabbisetty said, "The cause of the long duration and intensity of the fire needs to be scientifically established and made available to all Bengalureans. It is time that the government stops being in the state of denial and takes tangible steps outlined in the Expert Committee report on the rejuvenation of Bellandur at the earliest."