Pollution control boards across the country criticised for failing to stop pollution of water bodies
Civil society members accused the State Government of non-implementation of G.O. 111 and attempting to scrap it with an intention of commercialising lands around the two reservoirs - Himayatsagar and Osmansagar.
At a round-table held on Thursday by SOUL (Save our Urban Lakes), members of other NGOs, environmentalists and researchers discussed the need to protect the water bodies and oppose illegal activities including encroachments taking place near them.
No commercial activity
According to the G.O. 111, the 84 villages in the 10 km radius of both the reservoirs cannot be used for commercial activity that can pollute the surroundings and there are restrictions on construction as the land has to be mainly used for agriculture.
Environmentalist S. Jeevanand Reddy said that it is not right to destroy the local drinking water reservoirs and then spend on infrastructure to get piped water from Krishna river for the needs of twin cities.
He said that if not for the GO 111, Osmansagar and Himayatsagar would have met the same fate as Patancheru area.
He pointed out that the locals of the villages around the lakes were not the ones who want the scrapping of G.O. 111 as they are going about their
agricultural activity without any disturbance, but it was the Government which is allowing violations.
Activist JasveenJairath said that the hidden agenda of all the political parties was to dilute the Government Order and make money by indulging in real estate activity in the area.
She said that roads were being laid for last one month near the Himayatsagar Lake and they have proofs of it in the form of photographs. She alleged that the authorities were not acting on the blatant violations.
Analyst SagarDhara said that Telangana is the second largest water-stressed area and the situation will get worse with increasing air pollution.
He criticized the pollution control boards across the country for failing to stop pollution and felt that people’s committee or local bodies should be empowered to tackle the issue.
The speakers vowed to oppose any move of the Government to scrap G.O. 111 and strive for the protection of the two water bodies.
