The petitioner, S Vasudev, a city advocate had contended that none of the agencies had paid any heed to two reports - the Lakshman Rao Committee report submitted in 1988 and the ‘Namma Bengaluru Nisarga’ - published recently by the BBMP. This action plan was meant for reviving lakes, desilting and filling up of dried lakes, but was never implemented.
According to the petition, there are 81 live tanks and 262 lakes in the green belt of the greater Bangalore metropolis area. It also states that only 212 lakes remain at present and 42 lakes have been lost due to encroachment and infrastructure projects. A sum of Rs 897 crore is required for rejuvenating 144 tanks.