Questioning what the authorities were doing when the owner of a resort was constructing an illegal structure across a river to draw water, the High Court of Karnataka on Tuesday ordered issue of notices to the owner of a resort situated in Agumbe and Tallur villages, and the Agumbe Gram Panchayat in Shivamogga district.

A Division Bench comprising acting Chief Justice L. Narayana Swamy and Justice P.S. Dinesh Kumar passed the order on a PIL petition filed by Agumbe Samrakshana Vedike and others complaining about the alleged illegal activities by the resort owner Balakrishna Shenoy.

Earlier, the government counsel told the court that the Tirthahalli tahsildar had ensured that the structures put up across Malapahari, which is a tributary of the Tunga, by the resort owner were removed. The counsel also told that a survey was conducted on the allegation of encroachment of land by the resort and it was found that around five guntas belonging to the gram panchayat were encroached upon. However, the Bench asked what the authorities were doing when the illegal constructions were made.

The petitioners alleged that the resort was built illegally on agricultural land and the owner of the resort earlier put up a permanent structure to block river water but that structure was damaged during heavy rains. Thereafter, the resort owner used sandbags to block river water causing hardship to residents of nearby villages.