BENGALURU: Amid the issue of encroachments on ‘rajakaluves’ creating havoc in Bengaluru, Congress MLAs K J George and Krishna Byregowda raised the Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG) report on sewage water being released into Storm Water Drains (SWDs), in the assembly on Thursday.
There were stringent rules that apartments should have their own Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) as sewage cannot be released into SWDs, but many are violating it, alleged George.
Krishna Byregowda criticised the government, saying it had not gone through the CAG report as Law Minister J C Madhuswamy has advised the House not to discuss the issue of sewage water being released into SWDs, with the apprehension that it may attract the attention of the National Green Tribunal (NGT). “But the CAG has documented and tabled a report,” he pointed out.
He took a dig at the BJP for blaming the havoc on previous Congress governments, despite the fact that the BJP and JDS have ruled the state for 24 years since 1983. He reiterated that the Congress, during the Siddaramaiah government, had cleared encroachments on a 400km stretch out of 805km, and even the BJP government’s record of clearing them on 33km was planned during that regime. “The BJP, which should have continued the operation, has diverted Rs 1365 crore set aside for other works,” he said.
George held CM Basavaraj Bommai’s hectic schedule responsible for ignoring Bengaluru’s issues, saying he had himself held the Bengaluru in-charge post. “When B S Yediyurappa was chief minister, things were different, with Katta Subramanya Naidu and R Ashoka responding quickly. I am not saying Bommai is not capable, but time is a constraint for him,” he explained.
COCOON REELERS HIT
Taking up the rain havoc issue, Ramanagara MLA Anita Kumaraswamy revealed that her assembly segment was worst hit, with corpses rising to the surface in a graveyard at Maralavadi. “The Silk City was affected with water gushing into cocoon reeler factories. Some bridges collapsed, cutting off connection to several villages,” she said, and insisted that silk cocoon reelers be given compensation and loans at zero per cent interest to reconstruct their business.