Private sector participation in rejuvenation, development and maintenance of lakes “can be allowed where there is no scope for colonisation” and their participation solely based on consequential commercial interest is not desirable model for preservation of lakes in Bangalore city, suggested a committee appointed by the Karnataka High Court.
In its report, the High Court Legal Services Committed headed by Justice N.K. Patil has pointed out that the experience from the lake development projects, undertaken with private participation, has been by and large unsatisfactory in most cases as the private sector had taken over the regulatory functions of the State and its authorities and have not allowed the “public interest” to prevail over “private interest.”
“The private entrepreneurs to whom the lakes have been handed over for maintenance have not been able to do complete justice to ecology. Ultimately, ‘profit motive' has prevailed over the ‘public interest' and ‘public trust'. The grievance of the general public in relation to free access, charge of user fee, maintaining the ecological balance, water bodies etc., have not been satisfactorily redressed…” Therefore, the committee suggested that “it becomes just and necessary that the participation of private sector in the rejuvenation and development of lakes in and around Bangalore city has to be discouraged, if not eliminated. However, the a limited participation without there being any ‘transfer of interest' may be considered by evolving certain safety measures to ensure that private sector will not participate within the sole objective of making profit in disregard of the environmental aspects, which are paramount.”
The committee has made the suggestions following a directions issued by the Division Bench, headed by the Chief Justice, to suggest parameters for lake management. The Bench has been monitoring preservation of lakes while hearing a batch of public interest litigation petitions, which have complained about failure of authorities to maintain lakes in and around Bangalore city and allowing private participation in lake management against public interest.
Other suggestions of the committee include: Continue work on rejuvenation of lakes as per the action place prepared in February 2011 by mobilizing resources from internal funds and government aid; constitution of lake management committee comprising various government agencies, fishing rights will have to remain with the State and its authority; code of conduct for maintenance of the lakes has to be evolved.
