Ninety-seven industries polluting Bellandur Lake have been served closure notices by the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB). The board began issuing notices even before the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Wednesday ordered shutting of industries polluting Bellandur Lake.
The board is still not clear about the extent of the area to which the NGT order will apply. If the order is to cover the entire catchment area of the lake, which covers 40% of Bengaluru city, thousands of industries will face closure.
The board identified 486 industries in a 5km radius of the lake, of which 97 water-based units have been issued notices for closure. Most are small-scale units involved in dyeing, washing, garments, laundry, leather tanning and automobile repair.
"Four teams spent a month in the area and prepared a preliminary report. Based on the report, we have started issuing notices to the industrial units," said B G Mohan Krishna, chief environment officer of KSPCB, who heads the committee looking into industries polluting Bellandur Lake.
The state government is yet to collate the final list of industries that will be affected by Wednesday's order. NGT has said industries in the vicinity of the lake should be closed, but officials are not yet aware of the area to which the NGT order is applicable.
"We will study the NGT order to get clarity about the actual area. If it is the entire catchment area which covers over 40% of Bengaluru city, the task will be humungous," said KSPCB chairman Lakshman.
He said a meeting of officials from KSPCB, Karnataka Lake Conservation and Development Authority (KLCDA), Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) and Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) would be convened on Friday to discuss the future course of action.
As NGT has said no industry would be permitted to operate without the consent of the joint inspection team, KLCDA chief executive officer G Vidyasagar said the sealing drive would be intensified after Friday's meeting.
Lakshman said the report of the committee headed by Mohan Krishna would be studied. He said NGT issued its order based on the committee's report. Notices had been issued to industrial units that did not comply with licensing norms such as setting up of captive effluent treatment plants, he said. "Notices will be issued to more industries if they are not following licence conditions," said Lakshman.
Shutting industries alone won't help
Bengaluru: About 365 million litres a day (MLD) of industrial effluents and domestic sewage flows into Bellandur Lake from Koramangala Valley (155MLD), Challaghatta Valley (110MLD), Agara Valley (90MLD) and Ibluru Valley (10MLD), so closing industries alone will not revive the lake. "You cannot spruce up the lake just by closing industries. You need to stop domestic inflow too, which accounts for 30% pollution," said environment expert Y D Manmohan. Apart from enforcing laws regarding captive effluent treatment plants for industries, the government needs a holistic plan to manage pollutants. One suggestion is to divert sewage through natural treatment and wet land before it goes to the lake. The lake water could be subjected to tertiary treatment, including reverse osmosis and membrane treatment. "By doing this, you can produce 200MLD of potable water which can utilised for industrial use if not drinking," an expert said.
The board is still not clear about the extent of the area to which the NGT order will apply. If the order is to cover the entire catchment area of the lake, which covers 40% of Bengaluru city, thousands of industries will face closure.
The board identified 486 industries in a 5km radius of the lake, of which 97 water-based units have been issued notices for closure. Most are small-scale units involved in dyeing, washing, garments, laundry, leather tanning and automobile repair.
"Four teams spent a month in the area and prepared a preliminary report. Based on the report, we have started issuing notices to the industrial units," said B G Mohan Krishna, chief environment officer of KSPCB, who heads the committee looking into industries polluting Bellandur Lake.
The state government is yet to collate the final list of industries that will be affected by Wednesday's order. NGT has said industries in the vicinity of the lake should be closed, but officials are not yet aware of the area to which the NGT order is applicable.
"We will study the NGT order to get clarity about the actual area. If it is the entire catchment area which covers over 40% of Bengaluru city, the task will be humungous," said KSPCB chairman Lakshman.
He said a meeting of officials from KSPCB, Karnataka Lake Conservation and Development Authority (KLCDA), Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) and Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) would be convened on Friday to discuss the future course of action.
As NGT has said no industry would be permitted to operate without the consent of the joint inspection team, KLCDA chief executive officer G Vidyasagar said the sealing drive would be intensified after Friday's meeting.
Lakshman said the report of the committee headed by Mohan Krishna would be studied. He said NGT issued its order based on the committee's report. Notices had been issued to industrial units that did not comply with licensing norms such as setting up of captive effluent treatment plants, he said. "Notices will be issued to more industries if they are not following licence conditions," said Lakshman.
Shutting industries alone won't help
Bengaluru: About 365 million litres a day (MLD) of industrial effluents and domestic sewage flows into Bellandur Lake from Koramangala Valley (155MLD), Challaghatta Valley (110MLD), Agara Valley (90MLD) and Ibluru Valley (10MLD), so closing industries alone will not revive the lake. "You cannot spruce up the lake just by closing industries. You need to stop domestic inflow too, which accounts for 30% pollution," said environment expert Y D Manmohan. Apart from enforcing laws regarding captive effluent treatment plants for industries, the government needs a holistic plan to manage pollutants. One suggestion is to divert sewage through natural treatment and wet land before it goes to the lake. The lake water could be subjected to tertiary treatment, including reverse osmosis and membrane treatment. "By doing this, you can produce 200MLD of potable water which can utilised for industrial use if not drinking," an expert said.