BENGALURU: Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said on Monday that the state government has decided to set up a judicial commission to probe encroachment of lakes, tanks, buffer zones and storm water drains (SWD) in Bengaluru, in the wake of recent floods that caused widespread havoc in the city.
Bommai told the Legislative Assembly that the probe team will track the history of encroachments as to when and by whom the lakes and drains were encroached upon and developed into layouts and roads, who were the officers responsible for sanctioning it and who was in power at that time.
Bommai said the commission will be headed by a judicial officer and will include technical experts. “We need a strong will to stop this. The whole system has gone wrong,” he said. The CM alleged there was an attempt by the previous governments to encroach dry lakes and there was also a cabinet decision to wipe out such lake areas from the map so that the land can be used for real estate. But strong protests from the public forced the government to withdraw their decisions.
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Revenue Minister R Ashoka said, “The flood havoc in Bengaluru was man-made as the previous government did not have a vision for the city and allowed constructions on lake bed areas. In Bengaluru, as many as 42 lakes were closed,” he said.
At this point, former Bengaluru Development Minister and Congress MLA K J George said he or his government has not encroached any lakes or closed them. “But BJP workers are trolling me by making false allegations against me. Let there be a probe” he said. Bommai’s claim that the BJP had not named George and he should not take it personally led to protest by the Congress. “Does it mean, the government will demolish Kempegowda Bus Station and Dharmambudi lake will be reconstructed,” Leader of Opposition, Siddaramiah questioned.