Most of the lakes in Bangalore have never been surveyed
17 Jul, 2013
A large number of lakes in southern Bangalore, including the important ones like Kempambudhi Kere, Yediyur Kere, Uttarahalli Kere and Dorekere, have never been surveyed by the district administration.
As per Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) sources, due to non-fixing of boundaries the lakes are facing heavy encroachment from the builders. At least 50 lakes in the Bangalore South region have already been in the clutches of the land sharks. The BBMP and the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) have written many a times to the revenue department for delimitation and fencing of lakes’ boundaries but they were never surveyed. It has been reported that the BBMP and the BDA officials hold the revenue officials responsible for the poor condition and encroachment of lakes blaming them of inaction despite repeated reminders.
However, when an application was filed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act seeking to get information about the actions taken on the letters by the BBMP and the BDA pertaining to 11 water bodies in Bangalore South region, no reply was provided to the applicant. When even the first appeal by the applicant went unheard, the applicant has filed the second appeal with the Karnataka State Information Commission.