A report on encroachment of lakes in Bengaluru has painted a disturbing picture. The report by a legislature committee says 88 of the city’s 837 lakes have been completely encroached—that means they no longer exist. Besides, 50 lakes have lost at least 50 per cent of their area to the rapid and furious development that the city has seen.
Only 17 of the existing lakes are considered healthy—devoid of encroachment and good water quality. Overall, in and around Bengaluru, nearly 11,000 acres of lake land has been encroached upon, most of it in the recent decades when the city grew beyond its capacity.
While tech parks, apartment complexes and industrial plants figure among the top encroachers, what’s shocking is that the biggest single contributor to the destruction of lakes is the government itself. The Bangalore Development Authority, created to ensure orderly development of the city, is a major culprit, said Speaker K B Koliwad, who headed the legislature committee.
It didn’t require a House committee to tell us that Bengaluru has lost many of its lakes and will lose many more. But it did help us realise the extent of degradation for which the city and its people are already paying a price. Many of the lakes that once served as reliable sources of water have been reduced to stinking holes. Many have started frothing and even burning.
But merely having a report that gives the true picture will not help save the lakes. Unless strict action is taken against encroachers and structures built on lakes are removed mercilessly, encroachments will continue. The report wants the government to go soft on residential areas and complexes that have come up on lake beds. Fine them, but don’t evict, it says. But that could send a wrong message. Lack of action will render this report as useless as many such reports in the past. The report names encroachers and gives details of encroachments. It’s up to the government to act, and act it must