BENGALURU: Some residents of Prestige Tranquility, headed by Prema Mistry, have been fighting for the last four years against the alleged mismanagement, causing dumping of sewage into local water bodies around the building in Bommanahalli. With not just the failure of the government and the civic bodies in acting against the builders or the Prestige Tranquility Apartment Owners Association (PTAOA) but also being slapped with a defamation case by the association, Prema is considering approaching the National Green Tribunal (NGT).
Prema extensively documented the mismanagement and has filed multiple complaints with relevant authorities, besides being active on Twitter posting pictures and videos of the nearby lake where dumping of sewage has been taking place.
Prema’s efforts led the regional office of Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) to order an investigation in March, and found sewage treatment plants (STPs) in the Prestige Tranquility not certified by independent experts. It also found multiple violations pertaining to hygiene of STPs, besides untrained personnel manning them, sumps designated for rainwater being contaminated with sewage and pumped into the lake under the larger Bommanahalli Lake, and sewage water pumped into a stormwater drain.
The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB), in a previous report, had expressed doubts on the quality of the water and the efficiency with which the STPs functioned due to lack of maintenance, proper equipment, and improper usage.
However, despite the investigation and the report, nothing was done to rectify the situation.
An RTI filed by Prema found that half-yearly compliance reports had not been filed by the builders (Prestige Group) themselves for multiple projects under their belt, including Prestige Tranquility, and no action had been taken so far.
The investigating team had concluded in March that the issues needed rectification, and a compliance report be submitted between 30 and 60 days. Dr Dola Bhattacharjee, Research Officer, Regional Office, MoEF&CC, who was part of the investigating team, said, “Although we’ve sent a reminder to the association (PTAOA), no report have been filed yet.”
Kiran Kumar, President, PTAOA, said, “We’re in a containment zone thanks to Covid-19, so we haven’t been able to get vendors from outside to do any repairs and we’ve let the relevant authorities know. However, we would have no reason to dump sewage. We love our garden city. The allegations of dumping are false. Sewage is disposed of through an approved vendor from BWSSB.”
Prestige Property Management and Services (PPM&S), set up in 1996 to provide maintenance and post-construction care for the Prestige Group, has washed its hands off the case citing legalities. Lt Col (Retd) Sreekumar PM, CEO, PPM&S, said, "We've legally transferred power to the association (PTAOA), so we have no obligation to manage the project. They can say what they like about the legality of it, but we've done everything through legal means and the responsibility no longer resides with us."
Prema said, “A lot of people aren’t aware of violations occurring in their own societies. The pollution control board has not taken any action against such blatant violations. If they still don’t act, I will escalate it to the NGT.”