The cases will be heard by a bench of Chief Justice AS Oka and Justice H Chandangoudar from April 7.
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In what has come as a relief to residents of apartment complexes in the Bellandur-Varthur catchment area in Bengaluru, the Karnataka High Court, in an ad-interim order, restrained the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) from collecting fines over non-compliance with sewage treatment plant norms. An ad-interim order is valid for a temporary period of time. TNM had earlier reported that many apartment complexes were slapped with fines and notices by the KSPCB with regard to STPs installed in their premises. The fines -- which ranged from lakhs to crores of rupees – were for apartments that were allegedly not complying with output quality of the water from STPs in their premises, and for apartments not having STPs installed. However, apartment residents had deemed the fines imposed as undue harassment. Speaking on the ad-interim order, Vikram Rai, General Secretary of the Bangalore Apartment Federation, told TNM that the apartments had approached the court in four batches based on the similar nature of notices issued to them. “As of now, 21 out of 34 apartment complexes have got interim relief from the court. The fundamental issue of all these apartments is the same. The court orders have, firstly, confirmed the right to be heard first based on the principle of natural justice before they are slapped with fines. Secondly, there is a stay on the fine issued. Thirdly, in case of a final order if the apartments are found guilty, the apartments have to be given at least 15 days’ notice for disconnection of power and water connections,” Vikram told TNM. The case will now be heard by a bench of Chief Justice AS Oka and Justice H Chandangoudar starting from April 7. The residents had earlier alleged a complete lack of transparency on the KSPCB’s side and that the KSPCB’s reports citing non-compliance were “cooked up”. They said they themselves have been carrying out regular tests from NABL (National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories) accredited labs routinely. Some apartments were also allegedly warned that their power and water connections would be disconnected in case of further non-compliance. Read: ‘Civic bodies harassing us over sewage, levying heavy fines’: Bengaluru residents Speaking to TNM, the residents had said these fines were only in response to the National Green Tribunal pulling up the KSPCB and the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) for failing to prevent pollution in the Bellandur and Varthur lakes. It may be recalled the NGT had taken suo motu cognisance of the Bellandur-Varthur lake issue in February 2016 after the Bellandur Lake caught fire for the second time in a short span. The residents had also raised objections against the issue of notices against some apartment complexes in December 2019 based on samples taken in April.
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