BENGALURU:  The committee appointed by the National Green Tribune (NGT), led by former Lokayukta Justice N Santhosh Hegde, on Tuesday inspected Varthur Lake as part of the NGT’s guidelines to ensure necessary action is taken to conserve the lake. Justice Hegde, along with officials from Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), Urban Development Department (UDD), Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) and Minor Irrigation Department (MID), visited the tank bunds and water body. 

During the inspection, BDA officials ordered that road construction be rectified along the fenced area of the lake. The BDA had earlier surveyed and fenced the lakes. BDA officials were asked to fence the lake again and clear the road that had been constructed near the water body. 

Meanwhile, the commission members observed that ongoing pipeline work and road construction work, taken up by MID, was slow, and instructed officials to speed up work to prevent further encroachment by private parties. The Commission set a deadline for BDA, BWSSB and MID to complete work in the area, and said the matter should be cleared before the next visit of the commission members. 

According to officials present during the inspection, the committee expressed displeasure over misleading information about previously submitted action, and measures taken up for conservation of the lake. The commission first held meetings with all stakeholders in December, and concluded that monthly visits to the lake’s boundary be taken up to resolve the matter. This was said to be the third inspection by the committee, which will again conduct an inspection on March 22.