Silt from 1,038 Karnataka lakes to be used for highway projects

Huge silt deposits that have been reducing the water-holding capacity of almost all lakes in Karnataka may soon be used for the construction of national highways.

The state government has identified 1,038 lakes, including 28 from Bengaluru Urban, that are within a five km radius of highways. The initiative is expected to solve twin problems: Choked lakes are freed of silt and highway projects get the much-needed soil. The fertile soil is, however, not excavated.

These water bodies were identified by the Minor Irrigation department, which is the custodian of lakes in Karnataka. Citing the Centre’s ‘Amrit Sarovar’ programme launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in April, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) had requested the department to identify lakes within a five-km radius of the highways.

“We have identified the lakes. Since most of these lakes are filled with water, we will not desilt them immediately. Whenever there is a dry spell, we will use the silt for highway construction,” Madhukar Wathore, regional head of NHAI told DH. “Highway construction involves a considerable amount of earthwork. We have in the past used silt in small quantities on some stretches,” he said.

The order, issued by the minor irrigation department on June 6, states that construction companies were buying soil from farmers for highway embankments. “Using silt from lakes for constructing highways is a long-term solution to revive water bodies. The initiative also helps revive water bodies in drought-hit regions,” the order states.

While approving the desilting, the Minor Irrigation Department has laid down some conditions like asking the NHAI to take the approval of the executive engineer, hold a joint inspection to measure the quantity of silt and undertake a capacity contour survey etc. The instruction also includes not touching the mother earth of the water body.

Desilting of lakes is one of the core works of any lake rejuvenation exercise. As the work helps in increasing the water-holding capacity of the lake, the desilted water body can help in mitigating floods by storing more water. A large number of lakes across Karnataka however have never been desilted for a very long time due to lack of funds.

Prospective lakes

Of the 1,038 lakes, a majority of them are located in the Tumakuru district (115), followed by Chikkaballapur (90) and Bengaluru Rural (64). As many as 28 lakes of Bengaluru Urban also feature on the list. Some of them are: Doddajala, Bagalur, Rampura, Vaderahalli, Agara, Byatarayanapura, Sarjapur, Huskur and Bommasandra.