BENGALURU: A 9-inch thick, 40-ft wide concrete road of about 150-metre length and an illegal gas cylinder godown has come up inside Heelalige Lake. It is alleged that the officials have laid the road at a cost of Rs 30 lakh inside the water body, on the pretext of providing connectivity to a graveyard adjacent to it, to help a real estate company.
According to activists, the lake falls under Chandapura Gram Panchayat, but the road was laid by Bommasandra panchayat, raising doubts about officials being hand in glove with realtors.
Anand Malligavad, who is identified as the ‘Lake Man Of India’ for reviving over 30 lakes on Bengaluru’s outskirts and also reviving water bodies in Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh and other parts of India, said that even the Dishank application reveals the violation.
“The officials may offer lame excuses, but as per my knowledge, forest land and lake land will have to remain as they are. The 28-acre Heelalige Lake has become a target for some real estate firms as trucks frequent the area to level lands for layouts near the lake. It appears that land developers could be behind the move,” said Malligavad, adding that the edge of the lake was being used to reach the 13-guntas burial ground, but in 2021, the authorities constructed a 40-ft wide road for about 200 metres, violating rules and regulations. “The lake falls under the Chandapura Town Municipality, but the permission to lay the road was given by Bommasandra Town Municipality. There is something fishy going on here, which needs to be probed,” stressed Malligavad.
When contacted, Anekal Tehsildar Shashidhar Madyal said Survey No. 197 of Heelalige village in Attibele Hobli is the original lake area and Survey No 137 of Bommasandra village is government cemetery land. “When checked in the Dishank software, it appears that there is an overlap. The deputy tehsildar and revenue inspector concerned will be instructed to inspect the place and give a report, which will be submitted to the superiors,” said Madyal.
An official from the Bommasandra Town Municipality said people from SC/ST communities had approached them, seeking connectivity to the burial ground. Hence, a resolution was passed at the district administration level and all procedures were followed and a work order was issued to lay a road. “We realised that the land does not fall under Bommasandra limits, and hence, we did not settle the bills for the contractor, who has now approached the court for payment. The matter has been escalated to the Bengaluru Urban Deputy Commissioner,” he stated.