Bengaluru's Sarakki Lake survey: 58 encroachments flagged, hundreds in buffer zone

Bengaluru: A joint survey by the Bengaluru South City Corporation and the Assistant Director of Land Records has found 58 encroachments on Sarakki Lake in South Bengaluru, including a public road.

Hundreds of buildings have come up in the no-development zone of the 84-acre lake. The survey report will be placed before the High Court, officials said.

The encroachments include houses, commercial establishments and a temple.

Surveyors have marked the lake's boundary by writing numbers on the encroached properties. A portion of the Shri Balamuri Prasanna Mahaganapathi Temple has also been marked as an encroachment.

Officials said buildings within the lake’s 24-metre (78-feet) buffer zone had also been marked as part of the exercise.

In February, a division bench of the high court had directed Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh to constitute a committee for clearing encroachments and protecting the waterbody. The Chief Secretary formed the committee and set in motion the exercise of identifying encroachments. The committee has three months to submit an action-taken report, as per the court's order.

Sarakki Lake is located in Puttenahalli, between the 6th and 7th phases of JP Nagar, spread over 82.19 acres with a catchment area of 5.65 sqkm. The waterbody has undergone significant changes in its topography, especially after the formation of a public road that reduced its size and allowed construction on what was supposed to be the buffer zone.

Residents in shock

The marking of the properties has sent shockwaves through residents, who believe most buildings were constructed decades ago. They blamed the civic body for issuing sanctioned plans and collecting taxes from residents all these years.

Some of them met Bommanahalli MLA M Satish Reddy and Bangalore South MP LS Tejasvi Surya, requesting them to intervene.

Kokila, a resident whose house was marked in the survey, said officials came 20 to 25 days ago along with a police constable for the survey. "When I asked them about it, they said the house is within the buffer zone. We are stressed. They did not give us any notice or information in writing," she said.

Some of the encroached properties are rented out for residential or commercial use.

Moni, who lives as a tenant on one such property, questioned why government action was limited to Sarakki Lake alone when buffer zone violations are widespread across the city.

"If officials demolish the buildings, should people live on the streets?" he asked, adding that he has been living in the house since 2009.