Nature renews lake, solves land dispute

Nature renews lake, solves land dispute
Deccan Herald

As the lake has filled up, the allotment of land may have to be cancelled for the land in question itself does not exist.

The dispute over the allotment of 18 acres of land to the Jawarharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) on the Rachenahalli Lake bed within Byatarayanapura City Municipal Council appears to be reaching a natural but watery finale.

With the Rachenahalli lake having got a second lease of life thanks to the heavy rains in the last fortnight, the 18 acres which was allotted to the research institution by the Revenue Department has been submerged. Along with it, the lake also appears to have found a ‘natural’ solution for the dispute over allotment of lake land for developmental purposes, despite the 1995 High Court order which bans conversion of lake beds.

Saving the water body

According to reliable sources, “if the lake has filled up, the allotment may have to be cancelled for the land in question itself does not exist. Else an alternative land arrangement may have to be made.” When questioned about the dispute by Deccan Herald, Special Deputy Commissioner, Bangalore Urban district Dr Rame Gowda said “I cannot say which course the matter will take until I personally inspect the site and study the matter.”

However, Mr B K Singh, Chief Executive Officer, LDA, said that it was pressing for the cancellation of the allotment order already made to JNCASR in an attempt to save the water body. Earlier, JNCASR had commenced construction on what it claimed to be revenue land. But the Lake Development Authority (LDA) pitched in following complaints of illegal construction by residents and served a notice on the institution. Construction activities were put on hold and the matter was entrusted to the Special Deputy Commissioner, for a survey of whether the land in question was lake land or not.

But even as it was being determined whether the land in question was lake land or not, it rained and the lake quietly filled up. “Nature has drawn its own boundaries and reclaimed what originally belongs to it,” says a resident near the lake. The lake’s rejuvenation also disproves the theory that it is a dead lake thanks to the low water sheet it showed in the last four to five years.