Lokayukta pulls up five Bengaluru South tahsildars over delay in clearing lake encroachments
The Karnataka Lokayukta has reprimanded five tahsildars in Bengaluru South for the slow progress in clearing lake encroachments. Officials have been ordered to expedite restoration efforts, with the Lokayukta emphasizing that protecting water bodies is a fundamental duty.
Why it matters
Urban encroachment on lakes is a major environmental issue in rapidly growing cities like Bengaluru, leading to flooding and water scarcity.
Five tahsildars from Bengaluru South district appeared before the Lokayukta following complaints over the alleged failure to clear encroachments on lakes and take steps to protect and restore water bodies.
During the hearing, the Lokayukta examined reports submitted by the tahsildars and expressed serious concern over the slow progress in removing encroachments. All taluks in the district, barring Magadi, had over 100 lakes with encroachments yet to be cleared. In Magadi, surveys of all 220 lakes had been completed and only 25 lakes remained to be cleared of encroachments.
The Lokayukta observed that the pace of action was extremely slow and said the matter needed to be treated seriously, particularly if officials responsible for the delay were found to have neglected their duties, as most of these cases were registered as far back as 2018.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in