Union minister of state for commerce and industry Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday adopted Kalena Agrahara lake in Bengaluru for its restoration. The minister, who also represents Karnataka in the Rajya Sabha, visited the spot to hold a meeting of stakeholders and share her vision for the lake restoration, which she hopes to complete by March 31, 2018.
“When you talk of Karnataka or Bengaluru, the first thing that comes to mind is the sorry state of lakes. So, I decided to do it. I sent a team of young volunteers from Delhi, to visit many lakes. We chose this lake for restoration as the residents and MLA here are pro-active,” said the minister, adding that she also plans to adopt a village in Kolar and has engaged in many projects in Mangaluru and Udupi.
The Kalena Agrahara lake on Bannerghatta road, spread across 7.5 acres was selected after surveying the lakes in the city.
“I wish I could have started work prior to the onset of monsoon. But we are going to work in a time-bound way. Even if I give my MPLAD fund based on the Detail Project Report submitted by the technical team, it will take a minimum of 60 days to complete formalities. And the work can commence only after the monsoon,” said Sitharaman.
Sharing the plan of action BBMP commissioner Manjunath Prasad said, “The lake water needs to be completely siphoned out. The process involves desilting to remove sludge, construction of bund and a one-km-long walkway, development of a tree park and installing a digital display system to record the water quality. The water sample will be monitored regularly.”
Sitharaman, who held preparatory meeting with BBMP commissioner, additional secretary of Urban Development department, secretary of environment and forests and CEO of the Karnataka Lake Development Authority, facilitated by Bangalore Political Action Committee (BPAC), said the National Green Tribunal order on Bellandur lake had made even the Centre sit up and take notice of the problem.
“In fact NGT had summoned officials over the Bellandur issue. A broad picture of lake restoration and urban living is emerging. Yesterday, we had a two-hour meeting and we decided we will not settle for a quick-fix solution. During the restoration, we want to codify to make it a standard operating procedure for maintenance and sustenance of lake with people participation and use of technology for constant monitoring. This can be replicated for other lakes too,” said Sitharaman.
Allaying fears of displacement or scrutiny among the locals (including encroachers), Sitharaman assured them that her role was restricted to seeking cooperation from all residents to restore the lake.
“The present contours of the lake have defined encroachment too. But we will focus only on the area physically unoccupied. As the lake also comes under the purview of Wetlands Act, I insist that no new industries would come up in the vicinity of the lake, while the existing ones will strictly adhere to the norms and release only treated water into the lake. This holds good even for the residential complexes, who will have to set up a sewage treatment plant if they haven't already done it,” added the minister.
Said Revathi Ashok of BPAC, “This initiative came from the minister as she was keen to do a lake restoration project. We did some footwork and zeroed in on this lake. Her intention is to create a good model. We are working with other MLAs and MPS. We gave them a list of lakes based on the budget, the area of their preference and with lesser encroachment problem as we want results in six months to one year. It is important to create success stories that can be replicated. At least 60 lakes under due for revival and the government too has set aside funds now, DPRs are ready, many MPs and MLAs are interested in adopting lakes and so are the corporates. Unless we build long-term sustainability, we will lose the momentum.”
MLA Krishnappa said, “We have started restoration of lakes in the city. But the NGT order has caused some inconvenience to people as they have built houses in revenue land. These old localities were part of panchayats and are now part of the city corporation. If the civic body can rehabilitate them, encroachment can be cleared.”
