Only 30% of Karnataka lakes free from encroachment

Only 30% of the nearly 40,000 lakes and tanks in Karnataka have been classified as “free from encroachment” as per documents obtained under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

As more than half of them are yet to be surveyed, it might lead to further encroachment of the water bodies.

The latest data from the Karnataka Tank Conservation and Development Authority (KTCDA) shows that officials have identified 39,179 lakes across the state with a total extent of 6.8 lakh acres.

A total of 30,507 acres of encroachment have been identified, of which 20,092 acres have been recovered in the last few years. However, as many as 22,170 lakes with an estimated extent of 3.85 lakh acres are yet to be surveyed by the Revenue Department.

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Officials in the KTCDA said that the delay in the identification of boundaries and stormwater drains will lead to the death of these water bodies.

“Lakes and tanks were treated as an alternative source of water for drinking and agriculture in many districts, but only 12,000 of them are currently free from encroachment.

Encroachments have been identified in 7,136 lakes and the custodians have been alerted. A majority of the lakes are yet to be surveyed and that’s a challenge,” an official said.

Leo Saldanha of the Environment Support Group (ESG) said officials are yet to take up the basic task of identifying and recovering stormwater drains. “There is an urgent need to decentralise the process of lake protection and development work in which civil society has to be involved. Officials at the municipal and district level should be given training in this regard,” he said.

The Karnataka High Court on June 15 ordered the setting up of district-level committees and made local authorities like the deputy commissioner, city corporation and respective urban development commissioners responsible for maintenance and development. Saldanha said a few districts have formed committees but no information was available on their functioning.

U V Singh, a retired IFS officer who headed the former Lake Development Authority, said the court has to directly monitor the matter. “A committee led by a sitting or retired judge of the high court has to directly supervise the activities if lakes have to get any chance of survival. Until then, we will hear one excuse or another for non-implementation of orders,” he said.

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