Only Rs 4 crore out of Rs 271.8 crore recovered

1900 crore is being invested to revive Bellandur Lake and Varthur lake.

, providing underground drainage in all the 110 villages is essential: Eshwar

Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) had imposed a fine amounting to Rs 271.50 crore to 58 industries operating without a sewage treatment plant in the year 2021. These fines were levied based on an order from the National Green Tribunal. 120 units were also levied a fine of Rs 3 lakh.  However less than 2% of the amount has been recovered so far. “The board has been able to recover about Rs 4 crore only. There are challenges in recovering the penalty as the dwellers point to builders as the culprits. We are looking into the issue to find a solution,” Forest, Ecology and Environment Minister Eshwar B Khandre stated on 16th October as per a report in Deccan Herald. 

583 MLD of sewage was flowing into the Bellandur lake in 2021, 100 MLD of which remained untreated. Officials are confident that this number has come down. However, the efforts of the government have moved forward from merely the installation of Sewage Treatment Plants to reviving Bellandur Lake and Varthur lake. 1900 crore is being invested for this initiative. “I personally believe, providing underground drainage in all the 110 villages and constructing STPs to treat all the sewage flowing towards Bellandur are important long-term measures and these have been added to the BBMP (Projects),” Eshwar added.