GHMC wakes up to lake care

Hyderabad: The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), in a belated move, has resolved to protect all 169 lakes in the city by boosting the lake protection force. It will deploy security personnel to monitor all lakes. The civic body will pull out security personnel from zonal and circle offices and redeploy them at lakes.

This apart, the corporation is strengthening the lake protection rules, which have to be submitted by the zonal commissioners in a week’s time.

Surprisingly, GHMC counsel, which informed the court that the Commissioner is not empowered to appoint guards near lakes, has decided to appoint one without passing any resolution or amending the law. According to highly placed sources in the corporation, the GHMC commissioner, Mr D.S. Lokesh Kumar, held a review meeting with zonal commissioners and instructed them to withdraw guards from sports complexes, deputy commissioner offices and mid-level officials working in zonal offices and redeploy them at lakes to prevent illegal dumping and encroachments. The corporation would first rationalise the deployment on a war-footing, especially around those lakes that are nearing extinction. If the civic body falls short of guards, it will also redeploy the staff from headquarters near Tank Bund.

However, sources said that the corporation by redeploying existing staff for protection of lakes, would put security of sports complexes at risk. In hindsight, this lacuna will give an opportunity to lower-rung staff to take away equipments at gyms and other expensive material in sports complexes.

The guards would add to lake protection cell, comprising joint collector, chief engineer (minor irrigation), HMDA director urban forestry, superintending engineer and executive engineer (lake protection cell). The committee has been headed by the HMDA commissioner. However, the lake protection cell did not have any individual to exclusively monitor it. The corporation, after HC directions, felt the need to deploy a guard at all lakes to prevent it from encroachments and illegal dumping.

Chief Justice Chauhan on January 19 directed  GHMC to appoint a full-time security person who can monitor the pond, restrain residents from dumping garbage into the water body and inform the police through a cell phone provided by the civic body. This after the GHMC counsel informed the HC that the commissioner was not empowered to make such appointments.

Reacting very sharply to the reply, Justice Chauhan said, “then tell your GHMC commissioner to resign. Handover papers to the government stating that he is not able to discharge his duties properly. This is not the proper answer which this court expects from the GHMC Commissioner.”