Citizens Dispute KTCDA Claim of Completed Wetlands at Bellandur Lake

A compliance report submitted to the National Green Tribunal by the Karnataka Tank Conservation and Development Authority claiming that wetland construction at Bellandur Lake is complete has drawn strong objections from citizen groups. Resident stakeholders have disputed the submission, pointing out that mere excavation and inlet construction do not make for a functioning treatment ecosystem.

According to citizen stakeholders, the NGT Monitoring Committee and the Indian Institute of Science had maintained from the beginning that a waterbody of Bellandur's scale requires wetlands of adequate capacity. These wetlands are essential to carry out critical ecological functions, including sedimentation, nutrient removal, and overall water quality improvement, before inflows enter the waterbody. Citizens stressed that excavating land and building an inlet cannot be scientifically classified as a finished wetland.

Sonali Singh of the citizen group Change Maker - Bellandur Lake rejected the official claim of completion. She stated that if the submission to the tribunal counts only inlet construction and Zone-1 excavation as 100 per cent completion, it fails to reflect the complete wetland envisaged in the scientific restoration plan. She also called upon the NGT to seek an independent technical verification from the Indian Institute of Science or an expert committee before accepting the progress report.

Contradicting the assertion of completion, the Bangalore Development Authority stated that wetland work at Bellandur Lake remains actively underway. A senior BDA official explained that the wetland's water retention capacity is currently only one day, while sewage inflow from illegal buildings and surrounding areas continues to enter the waterbody. The agency is currently enhancing the retention capacity to seven days to guarantee proper filtration and protect the lake.

The KTCDA compliance report also detailed the status of several other infrastructure works across the waterbody. Fencing has been completed along 11.26 kilometres of the lake's total 12.26-kilometre boundary, leaving a one-kilometre stretch pending near Ambedkar Nagar Slum. Flood regulatory structures, including a sluice gate and a waste weir, have been fully installed, and diversion canals have been constructed on the northern and southern sides to divert incoming sewage.

Regarding desilting, the report stated that silt removal has finished across 724 acres and 26 guntas of the total 794 acres and 26 guntas of the lake's water spread area. A tender has been floated for the remaining 70 acres to handle desilting and the transportation of silt, with August 24, 2026, set as the final deadline.