Govt shielding big builders encroaching lakes: Kumaraswamy

JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy on Monday accused the State government of shielding big builders who have encroached upon lakes in the City.

Speaking to reporters, he said the government has not been giving any information on big builders who have grabbed lake lands to a committee of the Legislative Assembly, set up to probe lake encroachments in Bengaluru.

“Why is the government shielding the big builders and targeting only houses constructed by innocent people. Is there a separate rule for the poor and the rich,” he asked.

He was speaking to reporters after lodging a complaint with Speaker Kagodu Thimmappa in this regard. Kumaraswamy is one of the 11 members of the committee headed by Congress MLA K B Koliwad.

The panel was set up in October 2014 and has been asked to submit a report in three months.

The government should first publish names of big builders and land grabbers who have encroached lakes in Bengaluru. The officials who have helped the land grabbers to create fictitious documents should be punished. Till then, the demolition drive should be stopped, he demanded.

RTI application
Kumaraswamy said that he had filed an RTI application seeking information on lake encroachments in Bengaluru. But Deputy Commissioner of Bengaluru Urban district, in a reply, said that an MLA can obtain information directly from the Revenue Minister. The BDA, the BBMP and Lake Development Authority (LDA) have said they have no clue on encroachments, he added.

Also, it has been over six months since the panel asked the Revenue department to depute 200 surveyors to survey the encroached lakes, but nothing has been done yet. The government was asked to ensure that the BBMP commissioner, the BDA Commissioner and the LDA chief executive officer took part in the panel meetings, but they have not bothered to do so, he charged.

On Koliwad’s recent statement that the panel would soon submit an interim report, the former chief minister said that there was no point in submitting the report in the absence of any information.