CAG finds loopholes in lake conservation, devpt efforts

The Comptroller and Auditor General has said the Lake Development Authority and urban local bodies have taken up conservation and development of lakes in an "ad hoc manner" without proper coordination with each other.
The results of performance audit showed that implementing agencies had taken up conservation and development work in lakes in an ad-hoc manner without adequate prioritisation and coordination amongst each other, CAG said in a report tabled in the Assembly here today.
The performance audit on 'Conservation and Ecological restoration of Lakes under the jurisdiction of Lake Development Authority and Urban Local Bodies' was conducted to assess the effectiveness of the initiatives taken by various agencies involved in conservation and rejuvenation of lakes in urban and semi-urban areas.

The performance audit for the period 2009-14 covered the activities relating to conservation and restoration of lakes in the Revenue Department, Forest Department, Urban Development Department and Fisheries Department.
The audit also covers the role of various implementing agencies namely Lake Development Authority, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, Bangalore Development Authority, Belgavi and Hubballi-Dharwad city corporations, Pollution Control Board and Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewage Board.
It covered 56 lakes, including 13 under BBMP, Bengaluru civic body and 19 lakes under BDA.

The report also said that Revenue Department had failed to carry out its responsibilities related to conducting surveys and removing encroachments in lakes, despite having the mandate for the same.

Also, the implementing agencies did not have any proper database on encroachments and hence the work of removal of encroachments from lake areas was only partial, it added.
The study of the lake area for 33 test-checked lakes showed that there were incompetencies in lake areas as per different records and the most recent records in many cases indicated reduction in the lake area. This was mainly due to roads, residential layouts and change in land use.
Further, the lake areas had been granted irregularly to various government bodies and private parties, it said.