In its progress report submitted to the NGT, the BDA said it stopped desilting the Bellandur Lake in May 2024 due to the lack of additional fund allocation by the Government of Karnataka.
Published Apr 10, 2025 | 4:28 PM ⚊ Updated Apr 10, 2025 | 6:23 PM
Bengaluru seems to have accepted the fate of its once famed lakes, including the one at Bellandur — a water body spread over 950 acres that was once a part of local culture and traditions. (Supplied)
Synopsis: Water bodies form an integral part of Bengaluru’s urban landscape but Karnataka failed in meeting deadlines to rejuvenate the Bellandur Lake. BDA said the government has not allotted funds for the desilting work, which was stopped in May 2024.
“Get, Set, Play,” the motto played in everyone’s minds as if in a loop as Bengaluru — then Bangalore — pulled all the stops to host the National Games in 1997.
Karnataka grabbed the prestigious opportunity to showcase its capital city, the Silicon Valley of India, to the country, and the world. Texas Instruments, IBM and others had by then set up shop in the city, followed by Indian firms that became information technology behemoths.
The city — the Pensioners’ Paradise — had much to offer: It’s climate, numerous lakes, gardens, affordable workforce and more, as the National Games neared. And then, Bellandur Lake in Southeast Bengaluru grabbed headlines.
Reports emerged that the lake was unfit for holding watersports events as part of the National Games. An activist, KA Vasan, offered to use his boat, the Swamp Rat, to clear the lake of water hyacinths that went against the proposed aquatic sports events. Environmentalist Rammurty joined Vasan and found the problem running deeper than the hyacinths’ floating roots.
Rammurty found the lake’s water polluted, thanks to the rampant urbanisation of the 1980s that emptied sewage lines into the waterbodies. He approached the high court and received an order favourable to the cleaning up of the Bellandur Lake.
Not much happened. As years passed by, the city seems to have accepted the fate of its once famed lakes, including the one at Bellandur — a water body spread over 950 acres that was once a part of local culture and traditions.
Years passed. The National Games grew in scale and prestige. The Bellandur Lake, where a few events of aquatic sports were proposed to be held, cannot claim equal prestige, though it became news for growing pollution.
Almost a year ago in May 2024, the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) halted the desilting of the lake due to a lack of funds. In its progress report submitted to the National Green Tribunal (NGT), the BDA said it had stopped desilting the Bellandur Lake due to the lack of additional fund allocation by the Government of Karnataka.
BDA Chairman NA Harris said the authority had exhausted the desilting funds. “We don’t have any more funds left with us. Therefore, we have approached the government asking for additional funds for desilting work of the lake. We are awaiting the government’s decision,” he told South First.
Meanwhile, a BDA Assistant Executive Engineer expressed hope that the required funds would be allocated soon.
“We are hoping that they (the government) will decide on allocating additional funds in the next Cabinet meeting, and we can start desilting work soon,” the official said, requesting anonymity.
The Bellandur Lake has seen several deadlines falling by the wayside even as high-rises cropped up around it. The skyline kept changing but the rejuvenation of the lake was overlooked.
In May 2023, after the Congress rode to power on its five guarantees made to Karnataka, Minister for Forest, Ecology and Environment Eshwar Khandre said that the rejuvenation of the lake would be completed by December 2024.
Neither the promise nor the minister-set deadline was met. Instead, the BDA had to stop desilting the lake.
The BDA in its report to NGT said that despite its plan to complete the work at the earliest, it could not set a deadline for desilting the lake due to paucity of funds. It expressed hope that funds would be allocated in the next six weeks.
The BDA said it had removed 22.69 lakh cubic meters out of the total 32.33 lakh cubic meters of silt from Bellandur. It claimed that 70% of the work had been completed.
Further, the authority said the early onset of monsoon in 2024 delayed the desilting work.
“Due to the early onset of monsoon, from 6 May 2024, rainwater accumulated at the working zone, preventing vehicles from entering,” the BDA report said.
In 2018, the NGT formed a lake monitoring committee, including an NGO, to oversee the rejuvenation of Bellandur, Varthur, and Agara lakes. Former Lokayukta Justice (Retd) N Santosh Hegde and scientist TV Ramachandra were on the panel.
Ramachandra then suggested the BDA establish a wetland ecosystem at the main inlet of Koramangala and Agara lakes. So far, the BDA has completed only 30% of the work.
Besides the wetland formation, the scientist had also suggested to create diversion channel to prevent contamination in the lake with grey or polluted water. The BDA told the NGT that it had constructed the diversion channel.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
