BDA allows illegal constructions on lakebed
The Supreme Court and High Court has already given directions that no commercial and residential buildings should come up on lakes.
The officials of the Bangalore Development Authority South Zone were not aware of the illegality of the layout on Venkatarayanakere lake in Gubbalala village near Uttarahalli, they continued to approve buildings plans assuming a green light from various government departments.
The officials had developed the illegal layout in 2003-2004 over the lake bed which comprises of 120 plots, ignoring the Supreme Court direction to the winds. Till now 16 houses have come up while foundations have been laid on four other plots.
The layout was allotted for the economically weaker sections as the size of each site is not more then 600 sq. ft. According to sources none of the higher officials have given their approval to the layout plan till now.
Moreover to built economically weaker section housing BDA either has to acquire land or release land from land banks. But in this case they have constructed building in lakebed which is illegal and it is ecologically sensative the environment of the city.
According to sources, BDA superiors have not given any sort of direction to stop sanctioning of the building plans. It is also mentioned in the records available with them that it was not a lake but a government waste land. However the records of Rights, Tenancy and Crop (RTC) still shows the land as a lake.
It is found that sales deed given to the allottees do not have the survey number of the land on which the layout has come up. This intentinally done to hide the illegality involved in the formation of the layout.
What is the effect of encroaching?
1) If lakes are encroached then during rain the excess water will not get directed to river basins and lakes. Instead the water will overflow to the nearby residential areas.
2) Reducing the water spread and wetland area means that groundwater level will go down. It is also said that wetlands also purify water in the area.
3) If too many constructions is happening in the lakebed, then there is a scope for rainwater to filter down and recharge the water table.
