'Lack of staff, funds hamper clearing of lake encroachment'

Lack of funds and technical staff crunch in civic bodies are reasons for authorities not being able to act firmly against lake encroachment and lake development.

This was disclosed at the Lok Adalat on Saturday, presided by Karnataka High Court Judge Justice H N Nagamohan Das and Lok Adalat member A N Yellappa Reddy. The BBMP officials said they faced major hurdles in clearing illegal settlements on lakebeds.

Rehabilitating the residents was impossible due to lack of technical staff and funds, they said.

Justice Nagamohan Das instructed all civic bodies, including BBMP, BDA, Urban Planning Development Authority, BWSSB and BMRCL to hold a joint meeting and solve the issue. The judge said 10,000 lakes disappeared in the State. They ordered the Lake Development Authority to study reasons for their disappearance and steps to restore them.

The Adalat was informed that as many as 5,000 private health care units were either not registered or did not possess licence. The BBMP promised that all the private health care units would be registered within three months.

The judge noted that unauthorised dumping and burning of garbage across the City resulted in toxic fumes causing serious health problems. An advocate submitted that garbage accumulation had reached intolerable limits at Vikasa Soudha.

The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board said that around 18 dye industries had been closed down. Medical Education Secretary Rashmi spoke about the problems at the Victoria Hospital like unauthorised parking on its premises and staff shortage.

Additional Commissioner, Traffic, Dayanand said that they have been regulating traffic in Kalasipalya and have booked 167 cases against private buses for not having a valid permit. An official said that the Transport department will be notified for not attending the Adalat. The next Lok Adalat will be held on February 1, next year.