488 industries asked to shut down for polluting Bellandur Lake

KSPCB cracked down on the polluting industries after NGT rap The polluting units have been colour coded on various specifications These units have been asked to shut down with immediate effect

Four hundred and eighty-eight! That's the number of industries listed out by the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) for polluting the Bellandur Lake. And, among these polluting industries, prestigious government units like HAL units, ISRO Satellite Centre and Karnataka Compost Development Corporation have also been blamed for killing the lake.

After the National Green Tribunal pulled up the state, the KSPCB has begun to crack down on the industries that were polluting Bellandur lake. After inspecting these industries and their sewage treatment plants, the KSPCB has listed out 488 industries, and they are colour coded on the basis of various specifications. The names will be given via a newspaper notification and the companies/units will have to shut down with immediate effect. Previously KSPCB had issued closure notices to 24 industries located around the Bellandur Catchment Area for discharging chemical effluents into the lake. 

The shut down can only be revoked after the industries meet the  requirements as laid by the NGT, which includes water quality, presence of sewage treatment plants, disposal mechanism, treatment of waste, its disposal and compliance with Air Act and Water Act. This can be seen as a huge victory for those lake activists and organisations who have been relentlessly campaigning to save the 910-acre water body.

According to a report in Deccan Herald, the KSPCB officials have documented the proof of technical ground realitiy so that it cannot be challenged in court and they also have a record of the scenarios. The officials are also inspecting the 116 apartment complexes around the lake. Notices will be issued to them for non-compliance under the Air Act and Water Act. 

Of the 488 industries, 46 are termed danger for posing serious threat to lake. They have been marked as red and they include HAL, ISRO satellite centre. While 76 industries are marked orange, 366 industries are in green category. The KSPCB has asked these 488 industries to shut.