‘Adopt a lake’ drive fails to set off ripples

‘Adopt a lake’ drive fails to set off ripples
Deccan Herald

Builders and property developers in Bangalore are being wooed by the Lake Development Authority (LDA) to participate in their ‘adopt a lake’ drive and reap from the spill-off value it can bring to their properties and projects.

On Wednesday, the LDA completed the discussions on such adoptions for Talaghattapura Lake off Kanakapura Road and Halagevaddarahalli Lake in Rajarajeshwarinagar. Lakshman Builders the developers of Judicial Layout coming up next to Talaghattapura Lake and the developer of Shakti Hill Resorts located nearby Halagevaddarahalli Lake have been asked to submit their detailed project reports (DPR), LDA Chief Executive Officer B K Singh said.

The agreement on Keliginakere-Byrasandra Lake in C V Raman Nagar is in the final stages of completion; Bagmane Developers who have residential projects in the area have already submitted the DPR, he said. The LDA had written to corporates and educational institutions to involve themselves in the programme, however their response was not very positive, Mr Singh noted and explained that LDA is now scouting for builders and developers because they have a stake.

‘A clean and well maintained lake in the vicinity of a developed property, will enhance the sale value’ he said.

The ‘Adopt a Lake’ programme mooted about a year ago, has been slow to take off, and is yet to become popular, agreed Mr Singh.

It was expected that residents associations would take to the programme readily but that has not been so, despite the first and the only one of the taker so far is a residents group.

The Palm Meadows Owners’ Association, Whitefield has adopted the Sheelavanthanakere Lake. Over the last month about Rs 30 lakh was spent on the first phase work involving fencing and walkways, said the Association’s vice president R K Misra.

The lake measures about 18 acres, and the association is likely to incur about Rs 1crore on the entire work, he said.

Adopt a lake programme envisaged to make citizens undertake the responsibility for clean maintenance of their lakes and does not permit any economic activity by the adopters. Fencing, desilting, checking sewage flow, clearing the debris in the surroundings and landscaping are the works expected from the adopters.