Finally, BBMP cracks down on grabbers of lake lands

At Varanasi Lake, five encroachers had grabbed nearly an acre and six guntas of the total eight acres and 24 guntas of the lake land

Civic authorities have removed encroachments from Varanasi and Junnasandra lakes, located in eastern and southeastern Bengaluru, respectively.

While the encroachment on Junnasandra Lake was in the initial stage and could be removed easily, the demolition of 12 houses built illegally on Varanasi Lake warranted rigorous planning and police support, officials said.

The BBMP has filed a police complaint against the Junnasandra Lake squatters who laid claim to the entire lake area and were about to lay the foundation for the construction of several sheds there, said K V Prakash, an assistant executive engineer in the BBMP.

“Local people alerted us and we were able to get the encroachment cleared immediately with help from Bellandur police,” Prakash added.

At Varanasi Lake, over 10 encroachers had grabbed nearly an acre and six guntas of the total eight acres and 24 guntas of the lake land by building 12 houses, said BBMP Special Commissioner (Lakes) B Reddy Shankar Babu. “We followed the due process of law and reclaimed the land once the court gave approval,” he added.

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According to Babu, a Rs 3-crore project has been approved to develop Varanasi Lake, which would help raise the groundwater levels in its vicinity.

Belated action

Although the BBMP’s action received praise from the public, lake activists say the civic body still has a long way to go when it comes to conserving Bengaluru’s many water bodies.

“Acting on one or two lakes is not enough. There are encroachments on several lakes and it is important that the BBMP looks into all of them,” said Ramprasad V, co-founder of Friends of Lakes, an environmental group working on lakes. “Had officials monitored lake lands as part of their duty, such a situation would not have arisen in the first place.”

In March 2020, the High Court of Karnataka ordered the BBMP to take immediate action against lake encroachments.

Asked about the belated action, Babu said they had to follow the legal requirements, which took time. He promised that the BBMP would crack down on all encroachers. “It’s just a matter of time,” he said.

According to Babu, while many cases of lake encroachments are under adjudication in courts, the lockdown and the subsequent restrictions also delayed the enforcement of the high court’s orders.