GO 111's cancellation means lakes will turn into sewage ponds: Experts

HYDERABAD: The Telangana state government’s decision to withdraw GO 111 which offered protection to the buffer zones around Osmansagar and Himayatsagar lakes drew sharp criticism from environmental experts.

They also protested against the formal declaration that these lakes are no longer required as drinking water sources for the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad.

“A lot of sewage will be generated as a result of the sprouting of new settlements. Many such plans are already grounded through secret agreements with real estate developers. This decision is to sanctify such deals, environmentalists said.

“The government said GO 69 will replace GO111 but the committee’s recommendations for a green city around the lakes have not been made public,” BV Subba Rao, member, technical, on lakes and reservoirs in the Bureau of Indian Standards’ water domain section, told Deccan Chronicle.

Rao said, equally important was that the buffer zone spreads over nearly 1,000 sq-km of the catchment area of the two lakes. “What are the government’s plans for this? The government says STPs are to be developed on 200 acres. How can this be done without having estimates of how much sewage will be generated,” he wondered.

Donthi Narasimha Reddy, an expert in environmental matters, called the government's decision “irrational.” He said. “The entire Musi basin will be dead, and the groundwater quality in the entire area will fall. Before withdrawing the GO, the government should have put in place its counter-pollution measures, like setting up the STPs and bringing water from the Kaleshwaram project to maintain water quality in the lakes.”