Assembly Speaker K.B. Koliwad, who chairs the Joint Committee on Tank Encroachment, said that the panel will approach the Karnataka High Court with a plea to expedite cases regarding encroachments on storm water drains (SWDs).
On Thursday, the committee met representatives of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to ascertain the cause of the recent floods in the city.
BBMP Commissioner Manjunath Prasad blamed encroachments of rajakaluves. Just 822 of 1,923 encroachments have been cleared. Some people have moved court against remove of encroachments.
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Mr. Koliwad said, “We will consult the State Attorney General and then approach the Chief Justice to either put these cases on priority or form special courts to deal with them. We need to vacate the stays so that lakes can be interlinked.”
Civic bodies to blame
However, the committee did not mince words. “For six months we have been warning of a Chennai flood-type situation here. And yet no work has been done. It is shameful,” Mr. Koliwad told civic officials.
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Later, while interacting with residents of Kodichikkanahalli, which bore the brunt of the flood, he apologised for the lapses on the part of the administration.
When the local MLA as well as residents blamed the Forest Department for ‘not allowing’ desilting and reinforcement of canals connected to Madivala lake, Mr. Koliwad ordered them to be ‘liberal’ with the rules and allow construction of concrete drains ‘even if a few trees are cut’. The panel visited Sarakki lake – where the rainwater had breached the bunds and overflowed into residential areas – and Belandur lake where the foam had swelled due to the rains.
For six
months we have been warning of a Chennai flood-type situation here. And yet no work
has been done.
K.B. Koliwad,chairman, Joint Committee
on Tank Encroachment