Lax attitude

the Karnataka government has failed to effectively implement the provisions of the Water Pollution Act, claims a report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India ( cag ). The report reveals that the state government has failed to monitor the activities of the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board ( kspcb ) since April 1999. The kspcb has accumulated a huge revenue surplus and invested Rs 19.39 crore in fixed deposit instead of taking up major pollution control programmes, alleges the report. Lack of coordination among the state agencies has resulted in deterioration of groundwater quality in many places, including Bangalore and Mysore. When tested, 51 per cent of Bangalore's groundwater samples were found not to be potable. The report states that schemes funded by the Union government for containing pollution in major rivers have not been completed as yet though they were launched many years ago.