State to act tough against tank-bed encroachers

State to act tough against tank-bed encroachers

Special Correspondent
Panel with powers to evict such persons has been constituted
Committee will

be headed by

R.N. Sastri

In the BBMP area, 50 tank-beds have been encroached

Bangalore: Minister for Minor Irrigation Govind M. Karjol on Wednesday said that a coordination committee, headed by the department Principal Secretary R.N. Sastri, had been constituted with powers to evict encroachers from tank-beds in the State.

Speaking to presspersons, the Minister said that there were 528 tanks in the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) area, Bangalore Rural and Urban districts. During monsoon, many parts of Bangalore faced floods and low-lying areas got inundated. The problems of residents would get compounded, if proper arrangements were not made to drain this water out by proper management of tanks.

He said that secretaries in the departments of Revenue, Forest and Environment and Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, commissioners of BBMP and the Bangalore Development Authority, Inspector-General of Police of the Task Force, Chief Executive Officer of the Lake Development Authority, Managing Director of BESCOM, Chairman of the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board and others in charge of civic affairs will be members of the committee.

Mr. Karjol said that there were 456 and 72 tanks under the control of the Revenue and Minor Irrigation departments respectively in the State. The Revenue Department had leased out some tanks to private parties, which would be taken back. In the BBMP area, he said 50 tank-beds had been identified as encroached. The Department of Minor Irrigation would pass orders authorising the department, whose lands had been encroached upon, to take legal action against the encroachers.

Meanwhile, the Minister said that 50 engineering colleges in the city had been requested to help the department in surveying the extent of tank-beds encroached upon in the city and mark the boundary. Amendments to the Karnataka Land Revenue (Amendment) Act, 2007 would be made giving powers to the department concerned.

This would also facilitate the authorities to launch criminal proceedings against the encroachers.