Bangalore Development Authority assures 30-metre buffer around Byalakere Lake

The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) has undertaken to maintain a 30-metre buffer zone around Byalakere Lake while carrying out development works in the Shivaram Karanth Layout in north Bengaluru.

The assurance was given in response to a petition filed by Babajan before the Southern Zone Bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT).

In its submission, the BDA stated that the only construction activity being undertaken near the lake is a 45-metre-wide road connecting Byalakere village and Byalakere Palya as part of the new layout.

The authority also referred to the reports of the Justice AV Chandrashekar Committee, stating that the development works were being carried out after the committee's recommendations had been placed before the Supreme Court.

"However, the BDA will maintain a 30-metre buffer zone around Byalakere Lake in the interest of being a model organisation and ensuring complete compliance with environmental norms," the BDA commissioner said in an affidavit filed before the tribunal.