Petitions have been signed, protests conducted and memorandums drafted, but when it comes to taking responsibility for lakes, very few citizens are stepping forward.
Initiated a month ago, the Lake Warden programme – to enrol citizens to monitor water bodies in the neighbourhood – has received an underwhelming response from the public.
Around 45 applications have been received by the Karnataka Lake Conservation and Development Authority (KLCDA). This barely covers a fraction of the number of wardens needed for the 210 lakes in the city.
Clunky bureaucracy
and clueless civic body
While officials are still optimistic that the numbers will increase in the coming days, they acknowledge that the unwieldy bureaucracy in the civic bodies is what is keeping citizens away.
The Government Order on lake wardens – issued in May – clearly states that citizens should send applications to the custodian authority (for instance, to the BBMP for the 123 lakes under its possession). However, the civic bodies seem oblivious to this rule.
The Hindu called up the designated authorities for Belandur, Ulsoor, Sankey, Jakkur, Kaikondrahalli lakes among others. Most seemed unaware they were empowered custodians of the lakes or that there is even a provision for lake wardens.
Even those who attended the recent workshop by KLCDA are unclear about the course of action. “There were a lot of questions on how to go about the work, but we still have no idea about what exactly must be done,” said a BBMP engineer.
Though the civic agencies should have a screening committee for wardens, neither the BBMP nor BDA have initiated the process. “There has been no outreach at all. The BBMP should be more proactive, with the corporators creating awareness. But this is not being done. There is no persuading argument,” said S. Vishwanath, a water conservationist.
Bypassing civic bodies
Despite the initial hiccups, KLCDA has set itself an ambitious target of getting wardens for at least half of the lakes, which they seem convinced they can achieve by bypassing the clunky bureaucracy. “This has to be a citizens’ movement and things should be easier for those interested. In a few days, the KLCDA will start directly facilitating applications for wardens from citizens. We are planning to introduce IVRS (interactive voice response system) to cater to telephonic queries from the public,” said G. Vidyasagar, CEO, KLCDA.
Bengaluru’s
lake story
City has over 210 lakes
Majority of them fall under BBMP and BDA's jurisdiction
KLCDA is custodian of five lakes in the city
108 empowered or designated officers have been named for lakes
In addition, the plan is to have 4 to 8 wardens per lake
Around 40 applications
for wardens have been received so far
For warden aspirants
Application to be verified by committee set up by the authority in charge of lake
Term is two years
