Hyderabad: The state government has shifted the onus to the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB) for its decision to scrap Government Order (GO) 111, that was meant to protect Osmansagar and Himayatsagar.
The government said that it had based its decision on recommendations made by the HMWS&SB in the past to construct sewerage treatment plants (STPs).
However, recommendations to construct STPs have been made on several instances in the past, including in undivided Andhra Pradesh. Way back in 2012, a team of HMWS&SB engineers had studied the causes of pollution in Osmansagar and Himayatsagar, clearly indicating that setting up the STPs has nothing to do with scrapping of GO 111.
Interestingly, G. Rama Krishna, general manager, engineering, HMWS&SB, said a letter was written to the Shamshabad municipal commissioner a few months ago asking them to install STPs to treat polluted water entering the Himayatsagar lake.
In GO 69 issued on Wednesday, the government removed the GO 111 restrictions on the condition that the water quality of the two water bodies is not impacted in any manner. It mentioned several initiatives including installing the STPs, constructing diversion channels to carry treated water and maintenance of ground water quality.
