‘Clear Kaikondrahalli lake encroachments’

The joint committee led by the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board on Thursday informed the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that all illegal constructions in the buffer zone of Kaikondrahalli Lake in Varthur hobli need to be removed to protect the waterbody.

The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) chairman C Jayaram headed panel in its interim report to the green panel said the lake is spread over 18.18 acres in Kaidondrahalli village and 30.5 acres of Kasavanahalli village in Varthur hobli. Several illegal constructions have come up near the lake, and solid waste was dumped in the buffer zone. Though the Bescom provided electricity to these houses, they have obtained it by producing fabricated documents, the report said.

The NGT principal bench headed by Justice Adarsha Kumar, which accepted the interim report, directed the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike and other authorities to take steps to clear the encroachments.

Earlier, the NGT formed a panel headed by the KSPCB to inspect the lake and its feeder canals and submit a report on allegation of encroachments and illegal construction. The green panel was hearing a petition alleging encroachments of the waterbody and illegal constructions in the buffer zone.

The committee had said that the final report would be submitted after the assistant director of land revenue (ADLR) of K R Puram tahsildar office provides a survey map of the entire waterbody and feeder canals.