Three weeks after the Karnataka government sprang into action to clean the Bellandur lake in Bengaluru following a National Green Tribunal (NGT) order, the government has decided to seek more time to clean the lake. 

An NGT order on April 18 had asked the government to clean the lake within a month and close down polluting industries. Following this, the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) had started undertaking cleaning process. 

However, after inspecting the lake on Tuesday, Mahendra Jain, additional chief secretary, urban development department told reporters that one month's time is too short a period to clean the Bellandur lake. The NGT is expected to hear the case on May 18.

“At the next hearing of the NGT on May 18, we will not only present the facts but will also ask for more time, since the task of cleaning the 910-acre water body is huge and the time given is short," Deccan Herald quoted him as saying. 

Mahendra Jain explained that setting up an STP at such a short time was difficult and said that the government would seek time till 2020 to do so, while assuring that several other measures to revive the clean are underway. 

Echoing the same thought, Karnataka State Pollution Control  Board Chairman Lakshman told The Times of India, “We are in the process of implementing NGT's order. We are also looking into the difficult part of the directive. A report explaining our position is ready." 

The report also states that while the government had initially planned to appeal the NGT order in the apex court, it decided against it. While several industries have been served closure notice, a senior officer told TOI that these industries would ultimately move the court against the closure order. This would also affect the state's image as a popular investment destination, the official opined.