Speaker to urge Chief Justice for special court to try lake encroachment cases

Speaker K B Koliwad on Thursday said he will meet the Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court and request him to set up special courts to adjudicate cases pertaining to lake encroachments.

Speaking to reporters after chairing a meeting of a legislature committee constituted to study lake encroachments in and around Bengaluru, Koliwad said he would seek an appointment with Chief Justice S K Mukherjee soon.

Koliwad said a large number of cases pertaining to lake encroachments were pending before courts and their early disposal had become the need of the hour. Officials hesitated to take decisions on clearing encroachments stating that the matter was before courts, he said. “If it is not possible to set up special courts, judges can be directed by the Chief Justice to expedite the adjudication of the pending cases,” Koliwad said. He said he will meet Advocate General Madhusudan Naik to discuss legal matters pertaining to lake encroachments.

Officials taken to task

The panel set a deadline of 20 days for officials of the Revenue department and civic agencies to complete the process of mapping encroachment of lakes and rajakaluves in and around Bengaluru.

Koliwad took revenue officials to task for not submitting their survey report on time. At an earlier meeting, the panel had directed the authorities to conduct a re-survey of lakes in Bengaluru region as per the latest judgement of the National Green Tribunal (NGT), which had redefined buffer zones for water bodies. The panel had directed the authorities to make available the survey report on Thursday.

However, the officials sought more time to complete the survey. Koliwad expressed his displeasure at the officials and set them a deadline of 20 days to complete the survey. He said there would be no further extensions. In an order delivered in May this year, the NGT had imposed a new buffer zone of 75 metres for lakes and wetlands, which will be a no-construction zone, as opposed to 30 metres earlier.

Bring out map of rajakaluves, Palike told

BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa has demanded that the BBMP come out with a map of rajakaluves in Bengaluru so that the public can ascertain the status of properties before buying them.

In a press statement, Yeddyurappa charged the BBMP with being selective in its approach in the ongoing demolition drive. He said houses belonging to the poor and the lower-middle class had been earmarked for demolition and palatial mansions and offices built over rajakaluves had been spared. He demanded that the properties of BBMP officials who had allowed encroachments should be auctioned and the money recovered should be paid as compensation to the people whose houses had been demolished.