BENGALURU: Not just industries which release untreated effluent, apartments that are not treating sewage and letting it into Bellandur Lake will also face the music. BBMP officials told STOI that many individual houses, apartments and dwelling units with less than 10 or 15 units and hostels buildings for paying guests(PG) are equally responsible for polluting the lake as much as the industries. They will be served notices. Sarfaraz Khan , joint commissioner of BBMP (health and solid waste management), who represented the civic agency at the National Green Tribunal hearing, said the BBMP will take strict action against such building owners and residents who are discharging sewage into storm water drains leading to the lake."These apartments and houses mushroomed around the lake in the last decade or so. Many do not have sewage connections to the underground drains but have inlets into stor m water drains. The presence of soap and detergent adds to the foam that fills the lake today," he said. Mahendra Jain , additional chief secretary to the urban development department, said: "In the case of Bellandur and the surrounding areas, all the civic agencies have been asked to survey apartments and check the separate meters connected to read the sewage discharge from each of the units. We will send notices to them to set up STPs. But for apartments where there is no space and it is practically impossible to set up one, we are thinking of limited relaxation."The BBMP is also planning to install CCTV cameras around the lake's buffer zone, many of which have turned into mini dumpyards.On Saturday, three BBMP offi cials, including a health inspector, visited one of the private layouts where citizens have complained of irresponsible dumping of waste by smaller apartments and PGs and launched a campaign to make sure waste segregation is done strictly by all residents. Odette Katrak , an active campaigner of the solid waste management, said: "We are now making efforts and working along with BBMP officials to streamline waste collection and improve segregation. We are educating people and trying to ensure 100% segregation. The BBMP must also slap fines on those dumping, incinerating and not segregating waste to make this partnership a successful model."

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