Yediyur lake encroachment leaves BBMP red in the face

Yediyur lake encroachment leaves BBMP red in the face
Vinay Madav | TNN

Bangalore: To clear or not to clear. That is the BBMP’s dilemma as it views a report on encroachment over 8 acres around Yediyur lake in Jayanagar VI Block.
This issue has cropped up time and again, and though the Bangalore Metropolitan Task Force (BMTF) submitted three reports to BMP (the erstwhile BBMP), no action has been initiated. Most often, the BBMP ducked the issue saying the land was tank bund area and the ownership lied to the revenue department. Now, it requested the BDA to look for the land documents going back to the 1940s when the City Improvement Trust Board acquired the land.
The issue came to light in 2004, when RTI activist L Shankarlingaiah sought details on the encroachment by some individuals around Yediyur Lake. The issue was referred to the BMTF, which got a survey done by the Land Revenue and Land Records department and submitted a report to the BBMP.
The survey stated that 8 acres, 2 guntas of land had been encroached upon around Yediyur lake, which falls under Yediyur and Dasarahalli villages. While the original lake area shrunk from 18 acres, 2 guntas to 15 acres, 23 guntas, there was further encroachment of 6 acres around the tank bund area.
Besides, the encroached land has changed hands over the past 30 years, either through sale or through divisions in the families which owned it. During the past 10 years, a number of apartments have cropped up on the encroached land. In 2005, the then urban development secretary S V Ranganath directed the BBMP to initiate action against the encroachment.
The BBMP replied the land belonged to the forest department as it was a tank bund area. The BBMP assured it would hold a meeting with the revenue department over initiating action, but the meeting never took place.
However, in 2009, Shankarlingaiah applied for more information from the BBMP over a piece of land, which was part of the encroached land. The BBMP, in its reply, admitted that the land owner was ‘Corporation of City of Bangalore’ and said it was leased to V Krishnamurthy.
Shankaralingaiah then lodged one more complaint with the BMTF, which got the third survey done. Even this report confirmed encroachment of 8.02 acres around Yediyur lake and on this land, private parties had constructed apartments.
WAKE UP...
The Bangalore Metropolitan Task Force had submitted three reports to BMP (the erstwhile BBMP), yet no action was taken
Now BDA has been requested to look for the land documents going back to the 1940s when the City Improvement Trust Board acquired the land
During the past 10 years, a number of apartments have cropped up on the encroached land. LENGTH AND BREADTH OF IT
Eight acres and two guntas of land had been encroached upon around Yediyur lake. While the original lake area shrunk from 18 acres and 2 guntas to 15 acres and 23 guntas, there was further encroachment of 6 acres around the tank bund area