‘The froth points to apathy of government agencies’

The recent condition of the lakes in Bengaluru highlights the fact that no one is accountable for the dying of lakes; either within the regulatory agencies or the private individuals and corporates, who violate the rules. The role of government functionaries seems restricted to making announcements of projects or paying platitudes without worrying about the punishment or the enforcement of rules.

The city’s largest lake, Bellandur Lake, is spewing fire and foam and has become a sewage pit. What was once a lifeline for many villages has now become a curse for the locals. The froth in the lake spotlights the apathy of government agencies and more importantly to the brazen, unpunished violation of laws and guidelines. The killing of Bellandur Lake is a symbol of everything that’s wrong with Bengaluru. Earlier this year, the matter was raised in Parliament and I demanded that the Environment Ministry conduct an audit and review all clearances and approvals given to the lakebed and ecologically sensitive projects in Bengaluru on an urgent basis.

The Environment Minister Javadekar agreed to intervene and assured that he would initiate immediate action against the negligent officials who gave clearances without due diligence and failed to adequately monitor compliance.

Now, the question remains as to why the government had not shown the moral muscle to handle the challenges that confront our city? What is the government doing to stop the continuous flow of polluted effluents from entering the lake and to stop land encroachments? Reactive stop-gap solutions like sprinkling chemicals, putting a mesh around or asking the Centre for Rs 250 crores is an incompetent way of addressing the immediate problem.

We need a planned and coordinated approach to all our challenges including the status of our lakes, water and public health. The appointment of a new Bengaluru Development minister in a full-time accountable position within the government is a good beginning towards addressing the issue of accountability for Bengaluru.

(The writer is Rajya Sabha MP)

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