Bengaluru: The second day of lake inspection by K B Koliwad, chairman of house committee on lakes was no different. Lakes like Bellandur and Sankey Tank were inspected and cases of huge encroachment came to light. It was a repeat of Tuesday when residents pleaded their innocence. Mr. Koliwad said he would look into the documents and a decision would be taken thereafter.
When the committee reached Sankey Tank, they found that 1.6 acres of land was encroached upon. However, the owner of that particular area, one M A Sreenivas denied the allegation. Sreenivas said, “This property was purchased by my grandfather from the erstwhile Maharaja of Mysore. I have all the documents in the locker to prove it.”
The next point was Channasandra Lake. Residents whose houses had been demolished by the local authority in an encroachment clearance drive came up to the committee with their grievances. One Gowramma whose house was demolished said, “We want to be treated on par with BDA. If they are spared from encroachment and have been legalized, the same formula should be applied for us as well.”
When the committee reached Bellandur Lake, they were shocked to see the level of contamination. Residents from Yemlur and Bellandur demanded that the tank be cleaned as soon as possible. Radha Joshi, a resident says, “There is always a bad odour. Our children fall sick very often.”Voicing a similar concern, another resident Mithun P said.
Supreme Court stays penalty for two firms
In a relief to two Bengaluru-based firms, the Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed a penalty of Rs 139.85 crore imposed on them by National Green Tribunal for ‘illegal and unauthorised’ construction near Agara lake.
A vacation bench of justices A.K. Sikri and U.U. Lalit, besides staying the levy of fines, asked the tribunal to decide the pleas of the firms on merits. Senior advocates Gopal Subramaniam and Kapil Sibal, who appeared on behalf of the companies, said that the tribunal did not hear and considered the arguments on merits.
