Lake encroachments cause flooding during monsoon: Sridhar Pabbisetty

BENGALURU: In the wake of National Green Tribunal (NGT) order which has increased the buffer zones on the lake periphery, the citizens have to be more vigilant and report instance of lake encroachment to the authorities and organizations concerned.

In an interview the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Namma Bengaluru Foundation (NBF) Sridhar Pabbisetty said the body is committed to ensure that the wetlands are brought back to its original condition, to prevent flooding of low lying areas during monsoon. Excerpts….

How do you ensure that the encroached land is identified and recovered from builders?
Survey number of the wetland, which is Sy. No. 43 of Jakkasandra is known. We can also get the proof of the original condition of the wetland and topography through google earth maps. NGT order and Google map is sufficient to clear encroachments.

How will you ensure that encroachments at other lakes are brought to your notice and how to implement the NGT order?
We have been working with BRACE, a network or resident welfare associations. It has been helping us to identify the issue, challenge and solve the problem. The issues will be scaled up to the highest level. Focus is to ensure that the public office and public assets are managed responsibly.

Why was Agara-Bellandur lake wetland picked up of all the lakes in Bengaluru?
Ideally, there should be a beginning and it all happened with Agara-Bellandur lake. Actually, frequent flooding of Koramangala and Srinivagilu tank bed was an eye opener for us. The encroachment of wetlands and lakes by the builders in city have caused flooding . If your neighbourhood is flooded, go find out the reason, a lake would have been encroached upon for sure.

What is your endeavour to bring erring officials to book?
We from NBF under the leadership of Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Chandrsekhar have demanded a fact-finding paper on the issue of Bellandur lake wetland encroachment and to release the names of erring officials responsible. We also demand to know why multiple agencies which grant No Objection Certificates (NOC) for mega projects failed miserably. They should follow the laws of the land.