Faced with fund crunch, BDA to get rid of 117 lakes in its custody

As many as 117 lakes in the City have virtually become orphans as the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), which is the custodian of these lakes, has decided not to develop them for want of funds.

The BDA Board took a decision to this effect six months ago and conveyed its inability to the State government recently. The civic agency has said that its priority has now shifted to the Kempegowda Layout off Kengeri on Mysuru Road where all its resources will drain.

Deccan Herald called the BDA Commissioner T Sham Bhatt following a study by the Robust Material Technology Private Limited on behalf Karnataka State Pollution Control Board, which pointed out that the Subramanyapura Lake is on the verge of extinction if not protected immediately.

Bhatt said that the BDA was not in a is not in a position to take care of any of the lakes in its custody and will hand them over to all those agencies which were previously handling them.

Bhatt said, “The BDA Board took this decision six months ago. We don't have resources. After our decision to form the Kempegowda Layout, it is simply impossible to develop the lakes.”

As the BDA has decided to get rid of its responsibility, the custody of these lakes will go to the newly formed Lake Protection Authority, headed by the chief secretary. The Authority, according to sources, does not have any financial support as of now.
Action plan

It may be recalled the BDA, the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) came together to divert the sewage which was choking the Subramanyapura Lake.

The civic agencies agreed to spend Rs 1.05 crore action plan for sewage diversion.
While the BDA paid Rs 36 lakh, the BBMP contributed Rs 38 lakh. Rest of the amount was supposed to be borne by the BWSSB.

However, none of the civic agencies checked the status of the project for which they had paid the money.