HC upholds temple construction at Kaikondrahalli Lake

The high court has upheld the stay on the construction of a temple in Kaikondrahalli Lake’s buffer zone. This is good news to the citizen volunteers working hard to rid the lake of encroachments.

For many years now, the volunteers have been trying to draw the BBMP’s attention towards the illegal construction in the lake’s buffer zone and initiate appropriate action.

Once, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) had removed the idols from the site of construction. The civic body has razed the temporary structure several times. However, it kept reappearing within months.

According to the volunteers, the owner does not have permission to construct the temple on the land, which is within 30 m of the lake’s buffer zone. “The court upheld the stay on temple construction after an anonymous well-wisher filed a PIL. At least, the lake is free of a major encroachment now,” a volunteer said.

The temple has been in a partially constructed state for more than a decade. The existing structure will stand until the BBMP removes it.

Violations galore

“One more temple has sprung up along the lake’s southern boundary. This has been duly notified to the court, adding to the long list of existing violations,” added the volunteer.

Moreover, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had inspected the lake in March and directed the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) to issue notices to violators encroaching the lake’s buffer zone.

Residents said that there were more than 200 encroachments in the lake including houses and commercial establishments. These still exist even after the NGT’s order.

However, the KSPCB officials did not reveal any information as to how many notices have been issued so far.