Don't spare builders encroaching lakes, govt told

The government should show the same hurry in removing apartments built on lakes and feeder canals (rajakaluves) as in the case of demolishing slums, said Leo Saldanha of Environment Support Group (ESG).

He was speaking at a workshop on ‘Conservation of Lakes and Water Bodies’ here on Saturday. Saldanha was referring to the encroachment of the stormwater drain by Mantri Developers for their Mantri Tranquil apartments at Gubbalala village near Uttarahalli.
He said, “Why you (government) shift slums from Ejipura and are not removing encroachment of Rajakaluve as in the case of Mantri Tranquil.”

Saldanha said that Mantri Tranquil had blocked the flow of water leading to Venka­t­arayana Kere, on which the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) had developed a layout. “Once the source of water of the tank was dry, the BDA carved a layout comprising 124 sites. This tank bed layout is a classic example of the fence eating the crop,” Saldanha said.

He said, “There are 38,000 lakes and tanks across the State which need to be protected by conducting a legal survey. There should mandatorily be a ‘no development zone’ around these water bodies”. Saldanha also found fault with the desilting of tanks, saying that it should be done only when it is necessary.

A question and answer session followed, where people discussed about rainwater harvesting, means and ways to protect lakes from land sharks.