BENGALURU: The Revenue Department and (BBMP) have started encroachment clearance drive by demolishing properties as per High Court directions. Members of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) committee pointed out that there is no need to serve notices to clear properties standing on water bodies and along buffer zones. However notices are issued only as a legal procedure to inform the person.
On the issue of flooding which wrecked havoc in parts of East Bengaluru, a senior committee member, seeking anonymity, told The New Indian Express, “Had the tenure of the committee continued for another year and had the state government officials done as per directed, then flooding and damages in these regions would have been 50 per cent lesser.”
The committee was formed by the NGT to look into the fire and pollution of two prime lakes -- Bellandur and Varthur -- and ensure that they are desilted and the lakes, wetlands and buffer zones are protected. The tenure of the committee ended in 2021.
The member pointed out that encroachment is not the only problem. It is also the capacity of the storm water drain, which the BBMP and urban development department officials are brushing under the mat. The width of the drains has been shrunk, there are no percolation pits, so when there is over 170 mm rainfall, one cannot expect the drains to carry all the water.
“Another major issue is the land use. Mahadevapura and surrounding areas were created in the last 20-25 years on agricultural and paddy fields. These areas are at a lower height and are plains compared to areas like Mahadeshwaranagar or Lalbagh or others, where there are undulations and elevations. So traditionally all the run-off water from such areas would flow down to these plains and stagnate. The same happened even now. The flooding problem was not in areas where water was flowing, but where it was stagnant,” the member said.