Bellandur Lake will be desilted, deweeded by May 2021: BDA

BENGALURU:

Bellandur Lake

, which hits global headlines every time it spews foam or fire, will be cleaned, desilted and deweeded by

May 2021

, Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), custodian of the water body, has said in its action-taken plan drafted on the National Green Tribunal (NGT) directive.

This is the first time that BDA is committing itself to a timeline to cleanse the lake. Though the authorities had consistently maintained that the lake can be desilted only after 2020, once all sewage treatment plants are up and running, they hadn’t committed to any particular date.

Officials from BDA had earlier quoted amounts between Rs 800 and Rs 1,000 crore for the rejuvenation of Bellandur Lake, but the agency now says around Rs 665 crore will be required to revive Bellandur and Varthur lakes, with over 80% of this budget going towards

desilting

of the former.

So far, Rs 42.3 crore has been spent on fencing the two water bodies, installing sprinklers,

deweeding

Bellandur Lake and executing flood-control work at both. Of the Rs 665 crore, Rs 550 crore will be utilised for desilting and deweeding Bellandur Lake, “over one full dry season, from November 2020 to April 2021 on completion of STPs by Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board on or before July 2020”.

In addition, BDA will require Rs 38.4 crore to compost the weeds and remove construction debris from the lake. The authority claimed it has already prepared a detailed project report for the same and written to the BBMP commissioner asking him to “identify and hand over suitable land” where a composting facility can be set up. Another Rs 36 crore will be needed to install aerators and fountains, once the one-time cleaning of the lake is completed by May 2021.

When it comes to Varthur Lake, the BDA seems to have thrown up its hands, providing no estimate for desilting of the 490-acre water body, apart from CSR funds of Rs 24.9 crore offered by a private company, Mineral Enterprises Limited, to desilt a portion of the lake. While BDA officials claim the company will take over the whole gamut of beautification, deweeding and desilting, the firm says they are only concerned with desilting the shallow end.

Apart from the CSR funds, BDA says the remaining Rs 640 crore will come from the ‘state government’s budget fund’. “We are preparing an action plan for restoration of Bellandur and other lakes with an expenditure of Rs 3,000 crore, and will send it to the Union ministry of water resources, which has a water body restoration scheme. If the plan is successful, we can use these funds for the cleaning process,” said Mahendra Jain, additional chief secretary, urban development department.

SUMMING IT UP
*Amount spent so far: Rs 42.3 crore

*Required for desilting Bellandur Lake: Rs 550 crore

*Installation of aerators: Rs 38.4 crore

*Disposal of weeds and construction and demolition waste: Rs 36 crore

*Reconstruction of waste weirs & construction of sluice gates: Rs 16.2 crore

*Total amount required for completion of work (including CSR funds of Rs 24.9 crore): Rs 665.6 crore

Will submit report to NGT panel today

Following the NGT order on December 6, all civic agencies concerned were asked to draft action plans for the lakes. On Wednesday, we will submit this report to the NGT- constituted panel led by Justice Santosh Hegde for consideration. All action plans will be discussed, following which, alterations in the budget, activities or timelines may be made

Rakesh Singh, BDA commissioner

ACTION TAKEN SO FAR
*Fencing of Bellandur Lake boundary wall

*Sluice gates set up at Varthur Lake; work on at Yamalur Kodi

*Reconstruction of waste weir at Bellandur Kodi

*Wire net installed at both lakes to prevent dispersal of froth

*34,260 metric tonnes of macrophytes removed from Bellandur Lake

*106 water sprinklers installed at Bellandur Lake