Bengaluru: The frothing, dying Bellandur Lake may get a new lease of life.

Believe it or not the Centre, in the Union Budget has allocated Rs 750 crore to the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board, for the city’s polluted lakes, even as sources claim that the board had sought only Rs 500 crore to set up eight Sewage Treatment Plants near the polluted Bellandur Lake and on its upstream areas.

The Centre had informed the BWSSB of its interest in reviving the polluted lakes of Bengaluru and hence the higher allocation, sources said adding that the city’s largest lake, spread over 900 acres, had served as the lifeline for the villages of Bellandur, Yamalur, Kempapura, Kariammana Agrahara, Belur, Challaghatta and Nagasandra until a few decades ago.

But it has turned into a large septic tank due to untreated sewage entering from various points. Bellandur Lake shot to prominence when it started foaming due to pollution and caught fire in May 2015.

Infrastructure for the upcoming Cauvery project was also a priority as a gravity pipeline needs to be set up from Netkal Balancing Reservoir to Thoraikkadanahalli at Rs 160 crore as part of the Cauvery Water Supply Stage V Project.