Minister KJ George seeks separate fund for upkeep of Bellandur lake

Bengaluru: Minister for Bengaluru Development K J George on Saturday said that he had requested Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to allocate separate fund for the upkeep of Bellandur lake, in the 2018-19 budget.

Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, George said that the government was forced to resort to this measure, as the Centre had refused to release funds for Bellandur lake."The BJP has charged that the state government has not cleaned up the lake despite the Centre sanctioning funds for the same. The fact however is that the Centre has not responded to the state's request for funding. It has categorically said that it cannot make separate funding for this purpose," the minister added.

He, however, maintained that the government had taken measures to clean up the lake as directed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT).He said that the government had adhered to the NGT orders and that notices had been issued by the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board to buildings that were releasing waste water into the lake. George also said that the police had been asked to ascertain how the fires were occurring.He said that it was unlikely the fire was emanating from the lake. Instead it was suspected that the marshy land around the lake was catching fire. "The marshy land has a lot of grass and weed growth. Also, it is replete with ammonium gases, which is causing the fire," he said.