KG Layout not formed on lakebeds, BDA tells House panel

Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) Commissioner T Sham Bhatt on Monday told a legislature panel that 14 lakes in the jurisdiction of Kempegowda Layout had not been utilised for site formation and the required Environment Clearance (EC) for the layout had been obtained.

The National Green Tribunal (NGT), Southern Zone, recently had ordered an interim stay on any construction or development activities connected with Kempegowda Layout, which proposed to offer 5,000 sites and 10,000 flats. The NGT order was based on the contention of petitioners that a major portion of the layout was lakebed.

The issue came up for discussion during a meeting of the legislature committee on lake encroachment headed by legislator K B Koliwad in the city on Monday. Bhat told the panel that there were 14 lakes in the jurisdiction of the layout that spreads across 4,023 acres in north-west Bengaluru.

However, the lakes had remained untouched and not been utilised for site formation. “The NGT ordered the ex-parte stay without issuing notice to us. We have the necessary EC for the layout which has also been whetted by an expert panel. We will inform the Tribunal about the EC at the next hearing and get the stay vacated,” Bhat said.

The BDA has already received thousands of applications for site allotment. Monday was the last day for submitting applications.

Koliwad took the BDA to task for encroaching lakes for site formation.  “We have information that the BDA encroached about 97 acres covering 23 lakes. The BDA has formed layouts on the lakes and the allottees are in trouble for no fault of theirs. What is your explanation,” Koliwad asked Bhat and directed him to furnish a written reply within a week.

The panel took exception to the fact that tahsildars were not issuing notices to government agencies which had encroached upon lakes in Bengaluru Urban and Rural districts.