DC orders removal of encroachment on Veerasandra Lake

The Bengaluru Deputy Commissioner has ordered officials to immediately remove all the encroachments on Veerasandra Lake after conduct a survey.

"A survey needs to be taken up immediately. A meeting will be held in this regard within a week and steps will be taken to clear the encroachments," Bengaluru Urban Deputy Commissioner G N Shivamurthy said.

Titan Company has taken up work on reviving the lake under corporate social responsibility following a Memorandum of Understanding with Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL). While the metro authority is the custodian, the Revenue Department is the owner of the lake.

However, a handful of individuals who had encroached lake property had started threatening the contractor hired by Titan. The company which planned to spend about Rs 12 crore was fearing an escalation of costs after the encroachers influenced the local official and brought a stay.

DH published a report on the issue on February 8. The deputy commissioner, who had not responded to repeated queries, visited the lake on Wednesday to take stock of the situation.

Officials in the district administration said it was agreed to construct a 25-feet-wide road on the western bund of the lake.

1 acre 10 gunta land loss

Laying of the road will take away an area of 1 acre and gunta of lake land. Moreover, building such a road will not only violate the orders by the National Green Tribunal but also violate the Revised Master Plan 2015.

"The RMP 2015 had set 25-metre buffer zone on which no construction activity should be permitted. At a time, the NGT and the courts are taking a strict view on giving an inch of land, it is unfortunate that officials are agreeing to give away acres," sources in the government said.

Sources also said that the main road connecting Veerasandra to Hosur Road has already been widened by pushing the road by 2 metres into the lake boundary.