ESG report!

Release: 07 April 2011 : Bangalore

Karnataka High Court initiates strong action to protect Bangalore's Lakes

Concrete steps initiated to implement Bangalore Lakes Report of High Court Legal Services Committee

The Principal Bench of the Hon'ble High Court of Karnataka constituted by Chief Justice Mr. J. S. Khehar and Justice Mr. A. S. Bopanna passed directions today to initiate the implementation the Report submitted by the High Court Legal Services Committee on 26 February 2011 for “Preservation of Lakes in the city of Bangalore”.

On 3^rd March 2011 the High Court had accepted the report that been prepared by a committee headed by Hon'ble Shri Justice N. K. Patil, Judge, High Court of Karnatataka and Chairman, Karnataka High Court Legal Services Committee and involving Heads of Dept. of Revenue, Karnataka State Pollution Control Board, Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board, Karnataka Forest Department, Bangalore Development Authority, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, Minor Irrigation Department, Lake Development Authority and Dept of Town Planning. The entire exercise was undertaken on the basis of directions issued by the High Court in a Public Interest Litigation filed by Environment Support Group and Leo Saldanha (party in person) (WP No. 817/2008) that raised serious concerns over the woeful lack of effort to protect and manage of lakes in Bangalore, and against commercialisation of the lakes.

The following is an unauthenticated text of the speaking order issued by the High Court today, and as noted by the Petitioners in Court :

“ A report has been submitted in furtherance of the motion in order dated 26 November 2010 passed by this Court in WP 817/2008 and other connected matters.

We wish to place on record our appreciation for the outstanding manner in which the issue pertaining to preservation of lakes has been addressed by this Committee. We also record our appreciation for all the member and Justice Mr. N. K. Patil.

Having heard counsels of rival parties and having been taken through the Strategies and Action Plan of the report, we are of the view that following issues deserves to be taken up on a war footing:

1. Survey of lakes/tanks so as to demarcate boundaries followed by erection of fences.
2. Identification of unauthorised construction within the area of lakes/tanks and removal thereof in accordance with law.
3. Removal of silt as also weeds for the rejuvenation of some of the lakes and laying of bund wherever needed so as to enclosed lakes wherever necessary.
4. Stoppage of flowing of sewage into lakes and tanks.

Since the members of the Committee constituted by this Court would be involved even in their official capacity to carry out the directions herein above, we are satisfied to request the Committee to undertake such tasks under their watchful control. The aforesaid tasks shall be completed as expeditiously as possible and reported to this Court seeking further direction as and when necessary.

List again in 3 months”.

The Court expressed its intent of monitoring compliance with the Report and fixed the next date of hearing for 7^th July 2011.

No tolerance to Lake Pollution and Destruction:

In response to the submissions by various parties involved in all connected matters to the Lakes case, Chief Justice Mr. Khehar, speaking for the Bench, made it absolutely clear that the Court would not tolerate any encroachment, pollution and destruction of lakes. Expressing the Court's anguish over the deteriorating condition of lakes, he shared that the time is now to stop any further destruction and deterioration of our water bodies and for this all encroachments will be dealt with strictly. He also opined that the process initiated to protect lakes of Bangalore could soon be made applicable across other districts.

This is a very significant development in the decades long battle for the protection and preservation of lakes in Bangalore and other urban areas, and also rural areas of Karnataka. Earlier efforts included the 1988 report by the Lakshman Rao Committee recommending various measures to protect and conserve lakes in Bangalore. The Government of Karnataka had accepted the report in totality, but did very little by way of effective action to implement the recommendations made then. Subsequently, the “Karnataka Legislature's Joint House Committee on Encroachments in Bangalore City/Urban District” headed by then Member of the Legislative Assembly Mr. A. T. Ramaswamy had reported in July 2007 that lakes in Bangalore were being severely polluted and encroached, almost always by highly influential people.

Despite this brutally honest exposition of the state of affairs, the Government failed to launch effective measures to protect lakes in Bangalore. Weak support to regulatory agencies to take corrective action, political and administrative collusion with encroachers of commons and unchecked pollution over the years has resulted in tens of lakes being encroached, polluted and irreparably damaged. Such colossal failures in governance has critically worsened the quality of the environment, livelihoods of natural resource dependent people, destroyed excellent wetland habitats and caused a grave water scarcity that affects the city today. The situation is not very different in other districts of Karnataka.

The current unprecedented initiative of the Karnataka High Court based on ESG's PIL has become a major causative factor to ensure effective steps are taken to protect lakes and other wetlands in the Bangalore area. By forcing Government to act effectively in response to its orders, the Court has begun a critical process of securing the social, economic and ecological security of present and future communities in the Bangalore region.

Complete Lakes Report accessible on ESG website:

A complete copy of the report submitted by the High Court Legal Services Committee, based on which current actions are being initiated, can be downloaded from www.esgindia.org.

Leo F. Saldanha Coordinator	Sunil Dutt Yadav Counsel

Environment Support Group - Trust
Environment, Social Justice and Governance Initiatives
1572, 36th Cross, 100 Feet Ring Road
Banashankari II Stage,
Bangalore 560070. India 

Tel: 91-80-26713559-61
Email: esg@esgindia.org
Web: www.esgindia.org

An appeal for your support:

ESG has been working on protecting lakes and other commons through a variety of legal, public and advocacy actions over the years. Almost all our PIL and campaign initiatives have been initiated with little or no financial support. Please donate generously in support of our efforts to help secure the commons for present and future generations.

Donating to ESG

Landmark initiative of Karnataka High Court stops the destruction and degeneration of lakes of Bangalore ( from ESG)

Press Release : Bangalore : 03 March 2011

Over 400 lakes to be immediately protected and rehabilitated in an ecologically wise and socially just manner spread over 1200 sq. kms. of Bangalore urban region

In a landmark ruling today, the Hon’ble High Court of Karnataka accepted the Report of a committee it constituted to examine the ground realities and prepare an Action plan for the preservation of lakes in the city of Bangalore. This report was sought by an interim direction of Chief Justice Mr. J. S. Khehar and Justice A. S. Bopanna of the Principal Bench of the Hon’ble High Court on the basis of the Public Interest Litigation filed by Environment Support Group and Leo Saldanha (party in person) (WP No. 817/2008) challenging the privatisation of lakes in Bangalore by Lake Development Authority.

Entitled “Preservation of Lakes in the City of Bangalore”, the report was prepared by a committee headed by Hon’ble Shri Justice N. K. Patil, Judge, High Court of Karnatataka and Chairman, Karnataka High Court Legal Services Committee and involved the Chiefs of of Dept. of Revenue, Karnataka State Pollution Control Board, Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board, Karnataka Forest Department, Bangalore Development Authority, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, Minor Irrigation Department, Lake Development Authority and Dept of Town Planning. The Committee accepted many of the submissions made by ESG and also enlisted petitioner Saldanha and Dr. S. Subramanya, Professor, University of Agricultural Sciences (Blore) in formulating recommendations for ecologically sensitive restoration of the lakes.

The report has been prepared based on a framework that has evolved out of two key prayers in the PIL.  One was seeking “necessary directions directing (the Government) to frame a scheme for the effective administration of lakes and tanks in consonance with the Principle of Intergenerational Equity and Public Trust Doctrine, in terms of the recommendations of the Lakshman Rau Committee and also in conformance with principles for wetland conservation and management as laid down by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests”.  The Petition also sought “necessary directions (to the State) to ensure that any scheme regarding the preservation and conservation of tanks, lakes and such other water bodies protects free Right of Access to all publics in exercise of traditional and customary rights, and of enjoyment of nature and its resources in a responsible manner”.

In the preface to the report, Justice Mr. N. K. Patil records the anguish of the Court over the state of Bangalore's lakes as follows:

“Bangalore is on a course of rapid expansion, transforming itself from a metro to a Mega city. During this process, the worst hit (sector) are the lakes of the region, which are put to misuse, threatening the water security, ecology and environment of the region. The estimated population of Bangalore by the year 2020 would be around 120 lakhs (12 million) and it demands a very proactive regulation, planning and execution system in place, to face the challenges of water scarcity and to keep the City habitable.”

Honest appraisal exposes precarious state of Bangalore's lakes:

In a rare departure from the past, the 137 page report accounts that the Bangalore region under intense urbanisation (BDA planning area, including BBMP and BMICAPA areas) has about 386 lakes left, and that the status of 121 lakes is unknown. The report also acknowledges that upto 100 lakes have disappeared as they have been converted to various urban uses including bus stations, roads, layouts, garbage dumps, truck stands, etc. Providing an overview of the status of the existing lakes, the report indicates the extent to which they have been encroached, polluted, and protected, and the agency which is the custodian of the lake. Such information is being made available in the public domain for the very first time. Each of the agencies which participated in the preparation of the report has listed out its specific responsibilities in ensuring the lakes are protected as prescribed in the report.

The report observes with concern that “were it not for tanks (lakes) providing water security in an otherwise semi-arid area, it is more than likely that the journey (of Bangalore) towards a successful metropolis would have been truncated centuries ago.  The critical importance of tanks to the success of this emerging urban area has been recognised by every ruler from Kempegowda, Hyder Ali, Tipu Sultan and the British as well”.  It also observes that evidence of such creative crafting of landscape into a water terrain is evident in any toposheet prepared by the Survey of India, with its last most authoritative account of 1972 revealing not one valley or depression being left uncared for; instead they are all sites to harvest rain and runoff, thus significantly enhancing water security and productivity of agriculture and horticulture.”.

Comprehensive effort to protect and rehabilitate lakes proposed:

Key recommendations include immediate action to remove encroachments from lake area and also the Raja Kaluves (canals interconnecting lakes).  This is sought to be done by conducting a thorough survey of legal limits of all lake and canal areas, and thus protecting the entire watershed.  The strategy proposed is “survey, removal of encroachments, fencing, watch and ward, clearing of blocked and encroached raja kaluves and drains, waste-weir repairs, and de-silting to the extent absolutely required”.  The report recommends that “lake restoration is to be taken up based on lake series/sub-series and not in isolation” and that “lake preservation is not limited to lake area itself, but very much dependant on catchment area and the drains that bring rainwater into the lake”.  There is significant thrust in the report to ensure that entry of raw sewage into lakes becomes a thing of the past, and to strictly penalise offenders. 

One of the key action items is to select lakes that are relatively undisturbed and rehabilitate them into drinking water reservoirs by blocking off sewage entry altogether.  Similarly, lakes which has very high biodiversity, especially of migratory waterfowl, will be notified for conservation under the Wetland (Conservation and Management Rules), 2010, per the Environment Protection Act.

Local community involvement promoted in protecting lakes:

Promoting the involvement of local communities in lake preservation and restoration, the report recommends constitution of lake management committees involving local residents and voluntary organisations.  Further, the report highlights the need to protect the interest of traditional users of the lakes such as dhobis (washerpeople), fisherpeople, etc.

Legality of Privatisation of Lakes still open to Court review:

The main contention now remaining in the PIL is the validity of the lease agreements entered into by Lake Development Authority to privatise control and management of four lakes in Bangalore: Hebbal lake (Oberoi Hotel group), NAgavara (Lumbini group), Vengaiahkere (Par-C group) and Agara (Biota).  Reviewing this pending issue the Hon’ble Court observed that the submission of the report “satisfies all the prayers .. except one pertaining to lease holders who have made construction in the periphery of the lake or are in the process of making such constructions.  The limited issue that remains in furtherance of the instant and connected writ petition pertains to rights and obligations of lease holders”. Based on this observation the Court granted two weeks time to the lease holders to peruse the report and posted the final hearing on the remaining matter to 7^th April 2011.

As a consequence of this unprecedented initiative by the High Court, Karnataka is leading the exercise of conservation of lakes and wetlands in a metropolitan area with the pro-active participation of all connected agencies. This could serve as a model for the country in building water security in a climate challenged scenario, in protecting commons and conserving biodiversity.

(Key excerpts from the Report and ESG's Submissions to the committee may be accessed at www.esgindia.org)

Leo F. Saldanha Coordinator	Sunil Dutt Yadav Counsel

Environment, Social Justice and Governance Initiatives
Environment Support Group - Trust