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Palike recovers land worth Rs 13 crore
DHNS
Last Updated IST
off with them: The Palike's demolition squad brought down buildings constructed illegally on the Dasarahalli lake bed on Monday. dh photos
off with them: The Palike's demolition squad brought down buildings constructed illegally on the Dasarahalli lake bed on Monday. dh photos

For the last many years, some big shopping complexes on Dasarahalli Lake were making brisk business until the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike lake division swooped down on Monday with a posse of policemen and razed them to the ground.

The Palike’s demolition squad, led by the lake division officials, reached the spot in the morning, only to face stiff resistance from the encroachers. The drive gained pace after the Dasarahalli police assisted the BBMP in pulling down the illegal structures.Four earthmoving machines and about 50 labourers razed the structures. The operation will continue on Tuesday.

Palike sources said close to 10 guntas of the lake land were recovered.They said the encroached portion was located on the Peenya-Dasarahalli main road, where the market price of land is Rs 12,000 per sq ft. Thus, the total recovered property is worth Rs 13.06 crore.

The Palike has also decided to recover the demolition cost as penalty from the encroachers for causing damage to the lake. The drive evoked curiosity among the onlookers who gathered there in good number.

As a result, traffic was severely affected.

Encroachment by KIADB

Spread over 27 acres and 33 guntas, the lake is a victim of rampant encroachment and sewage. The BBMP could save at least 13 acres but it is yet to recover nearly 15 acres.

The lake is divided in Survey Number 24 of Chokkasandra village and Survey Number 5 of Dasarahalli village. Among the big encroachers is the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board, which has built a road leading to the industrial area from where huge quantity of effluents gush into the lake, the BBMP sources said.

The BBMP has set up a sewage treatment plant here with a capacity of 10 lakh litres per day. It treats some amount of effluents coming from the Peenya Industrial Area in the east, but diverts a large amount of water through a pipe next to the waste weir.A slum on the lakebed in the north is also responsible for polluting the lake.

The BBMP has now channelised sewage from the slum through the waste weir. The Palike has drawn an action plan to clear the slum from the lakebed. It has decided to build a residential colony for the slum dwellers at Dodda Bidarakallu.

The Palike has 35 acres of land, of which 22.5 acres have been encroached upon. The BBMP has protected the remaining 12.5 acres by constructing a boundary wall. It has decided to provide 2.5 acres for rehabilitating the slum dwellers.

In this regard, the BBMP has written a letter to the Karnataka Slum Development Board (KSDB) to construct quarters for the economically weaker section. It is learnt that the KSDB has sought the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board’s clearance to go ahead with the project.

 BBMP, sources said, was finding it difficult to evict the remaining encroachers as there were litigations pending before the Karnataka High Court.

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(Published 26 August 2014, 01:46 IST)