Desilting Bellandur, Varthur lakes could take one more year

Varthur Lake. 

The project to desilt Bellandur and Varthur lakes has been running into a series of hurdles starting from delays in finding sites to dumping excavated silt and incessant rain.

Though the project was expected to be completed by August 2022, contractors said they would need at least another year to complete excavating the huge amounts of silt.

“The project started in January 2021 with an 18-month deadline. However, till March, we did not know where to excavate since the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) had not given us a map of areas with hazardous silt, delaying the process,” said a contractor who did not want to be named.

That apart, engineers working on the ground said identification and approval of site to dump the excavated silt was also delayed.

“First, even after five months of excavation, we were not sure where to dump the silt and it remained piled up on the site. Next, once the sites were identified, there was opposition from the locals and traffic restrictions. We could not transport the silt for nearly a month,” the engineers said.

BDA officials attributed the delay to incessant rains and the Covid-induced lockdowns. “Due to rains, work on the site has been stalled for nearly a month now. It was the same situation last year,” said a BDA engineer monitoring the project’s progress.

Contractors also faced labour shortage during the pandemic. As the second wave raged, there were no drivers to transport the silt, the BDA engineer added.

Sources also said authorities are yet to clear a slum dwelling on a small portion of the lake land.

With the deadline fast approaching, only 41% of the work at Bellandur Lake and 73.61% of the work at Varthur Lake has been completed. Also, as per data, not even half of the excavated silt has been transported out of the lake.

The BDA is executing the project at Rs 100.3 crore, which is being monitored by the chief secretary following directions from the National Green Tribunal (NGT).

Progress at Bellandur Lake

Total silt expected: 32.3 lakh cubic metres (cu m)

Silt excavated so far: 13.26 lakh cu m

Silt transported out of site: 5.62 lakh cu m

Progress: 41%

Progress at Varthur Lake

Total silt expected: 15.1 lakh cubic metres (cu m)

Silt excavated so far: 11.11 lakh cu m

Silt transported out of site: 8.44 lakh cu m

Progress: 73.61%