0 Comment(s) *
* The moderation of comments is automated and not cleared manually by indianexpress.com.
Lake activist Balaji Raghotham said, “The BBMP itself is violating buffer zone regulations with this construction. When the court has said that all the encroachments should be removed from the lake, here the BBMP that has to implement the court order is constructing the building. We have been asking for the rejuvenation of this lake since 2013 and last year the government finally announced its restoration. (Express Photo)Environmental activists have accused the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) of violating buffer zone regulations by constructing a building (Samudaya Bhavan) in the vicinity of Gangashetty lake in KR Puram. Notably, the BBMP had last year announced that the lake would be rejuvenated at a cost of Rs 4 crore.
Lake activist Balaji Raghotham said, “The BBMP itself is violating buffer zone regulations with this construction. When the court has said that all the encroachments should be removed from the lake, here the BBMP that has to implement the court order is constructing the building. We have been asking for the rejuvenation of this lake since 2013 and last year the government finally announced its restoration.
“On our request, the lake was surveyed by the revenue department and the area where the construction is happening is well within the lake boundary. The lake has already been encroached and the BBMP itself used to dump garbage in the lake. Although the water body is just behind the BBMP office, they never bothered to restore the lake. We have learnt that the building is being constructed at a cost of Rs 1.5 crore.”
He demanded action against officials who approved the building project.
Subscriber Only Stories
Commenting on the issue, BBMP chief engineer (lakes) Mohan Krishna said, “I got to know about the issue and we are looking into it. No construction is permissible within lake boundaries.”
According to official documents from the BBMP, the lake was originally spread over 21 acres, of which more than two acres have already been encroached with the construction of a police station, a BMTC compound, a road and a tahsildar office.
- The Indian Express website has been rated GREEN for its credibility and trustworthiness by Newsguard, a global service that rates news sources for their journalistic standards.
