Karnataka High Court orders joint plan to clear encroachments along Vrishabhavathi river

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court on Monday directed the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and the Deputy Commissioner of Bengaluru to develop a joint action plan to clear encroachments along the Vrishabhavathi river.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice NV Anjaria and Justice KV Aravind issued the direction after hearing a PIL filed in 2020 by a Bengaluru-based advocate, Geetha Misra, seeking to restore and rejuvenate the river.

During the hearing, the court noted that the BBMP had filed a report and stated that appropriate orders are awaited from the deputy commissioner for the removal of encroachments.

The court granted time for the advocate representing the deputy commissioner to take instructions.

"While the time is granted, it is directed that the BBMP and the office of the deputy commissioner shall come out with a joint plan of action to ensure the mechanism and modalities to clear the encroachments,” the court said.

The next hearing is scheduled for August 29.

The petition cited a report by the National Environmental Engineering and Research Institute (NEERI). A report thereafter indicated about 17.5 acres of encroachment on tributary nalas, around 23 acres of encroachment in the river valley, and approximately 89 acres of encroachment in the lake area of contributing waterbodies of the Vrishabhavathi river.