The Hon'ble High Court of Karnataka in a recent landmark ruling (March 2011) accepted the report of the Karnataka High Court Legal Services Committee, which was constituted by it to examine the ground realities and prepare an action plan for the preservation of lakes in the city of Bangalore.

The issue dates back to 2008 when the Environment Support Group (ESG) filed a Public Interest Litigation challenging the privatisation of lakes in Bangalore by the Lake Development Authority. There were two key prayers in the PIL.

One was seeking "necessary directions directing (the Government) to frame a scheme for the effective administration of lakes and tanks in consonance with the Principle of Intergenerational Equity and Public Trust Doctrine, in line with the recommendations of the Lakshman Rau Committee and also in conformance with principles for wetland conservation and management as laid down by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests".

The second sought "necessary directions (to the State) to ensure that any scheme regarding the preservation and conservation of tanks, lakes and such other water bodies protects free "Right of Access" to all public in exercise of traditional and customary rights, and of enjoyment of nature and its resources in a responsible manner".

In February 2011, a submission was made by Leo Saldanha, ESG with expert interventions from Dr. S. Subramanya, Ornithologist and Wetland Specialist to the Karnataka High Court Legal Services Committee set up by the High Court. It brought to light the large scale indiscriminate grant and unauthorised occupation of tank bed areas in and around Bangalore and sought their protection. It proposed steps for the conservation and protection of lakes as functional ecosystems, cultural and livelihood supportive spaces and as public commons.

The submission voiced its concern against the present lake development model being adopted by the Lake Development Authority (LDA), Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) and Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). The civil engineering design did not take into consideration the lake structure, ecology and the biodiversity they support. The model is aimed at maximum desilting, and utilization of the desilted mud in situ, essentially to curtail costs involved in transporting and dumping mud elsewhere.

This forces the agencies to resort to unnecessary constructions within the lake area, such as ringed-elevated-wide jogging tracks. Often enough, bird islands are developed even when they serve no ecological role due to the small size of the lake. Such desilting and rehabilitation practices contribute to the gradual or rapid destruction of the natural structure of the lake.

The submission also dealt with prospective planning to protect lakes and build water and ecological security and stressed that caution be exercised to protect lake systems when developing new neighbourhoods, infrastructure projects and industrial areas. It called for designation of lakes as bird sanctuaries (with no boating and commercial fishing) and that local rights be recognised for wise use of wetlands.

Entitled "Preservation of Lakes in the City of Bangalore", the report of the High Court Committee accepted many of the submissions made by ESG and also enlisted petitioner Leo Saldanha, ESG and Dr. S. Subramanya, Professor, University of Agricultural Sciences (Bangalore) in formulating recommendations for ecologically sensitive restoration of the lakes.

The report records the anguish of the Court over the state of Bangalore's lakes and calls for a very proactive regulation, planning and execution system in place, to face the challenges of water scarcity and to keep the City habitable. In a rare departure from the past, it mentions that the Bangalore region under intense urbanisation (BDA planning area, including BBMP and BMICAPA areas) has about 386 lakes left, and that the status of 121 lakes is unknown. The report also acknowledges that upto 100 lakes have disappeared as they have been converted to various urban uses including bus stations, roads, layouts, garbage dumps, truck stands, etc.

Providing an overview of the status of the existing lakes, the report indicates the extent to which they have been encroached, polluted, and protected, and the agency which is the custodian of the lake. Such information is being made available in the public domain for the very first time. Each of the agencies which participated in the preparation of the report has listed out its specific responsibilities in ensuring the lakes are protected as prescribed in the report.

Key recommendations include immediate action to remove encroachments from lake area and also the Raja Kaluves (canals interconnecting lakes). This is sought to be done by conducting a thorough survey of legal limits of all lake and canal areas, and thus protecting the entire watershed. The strategy proposed is "survey, removal of encroachments, fencing, watch and ward, clearing of blocked and encroached raja kaluves and drains, surplus-weir repairs, and de-silting to the extent absolutely required".

The report recommends that "lake restoration is to be taken up based on lake series/sub-series and not in isolation" and that "lake preservation is not limited to lake area itself, but very much dependant on catchment area and the drains that bring rainwater into the lake". There is significant thrust in the report to ensure that entry of raw sewage into lakes becomes a thing of the past, and to strictly penalise offenders.

One of the key action items is to select lakes that are relatively undisturbed and rehabilitate them into drinking water reservoirs by blocking off sewage entry altogether. Similarly, lakes which has very high biodiversity, especially of migratory waterfowl, will be notified for conservation under the Wetland (Conservation and Management Rules), 2010, per the Environment Protection Act.

Promoting the involvement of local communities in lake preservation and restoration, the report recommends constitution of lake management committees involving local residents and voluntary organisations. Further, the report highlights the need to protect the interest of traditional users of the lakes such as dhobis (washerpeople), fisherpeople, etc.

The main contention now remaining in the PIL is the validity of the lease agreements entered into by Lake Development Authority to privatise control and management of four lakes in Bangalore: Hebbal lake (Oberoi Hotel group), Nagavara (Lumbini group), Vengaiahkere (Par-C group) and Agara (Biota).

As a consequence of this unprecedented initiative by the High Court, Karnataka is leading the exercise of conservation of lakes and wetlands in a metropolitan area with the pro-active participation of all connected agencies. This could serve as a model for the country in building water security in a climate challenged scenario, in protecting commons and conserving biodiversity.

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