Activists threaten KMC with legal action

Allege irregularities in report seeking central grant for Rankala Tank

Environmental activists have threatened to take Kolhapur Municipal Corporation (KMC) to court over deception in a report on the development of Rankala Tank "� for which the Centre sanctioned a grant of Rs 10 crore. The civic bidy had submitted teh report to the state government for forwarding it to the Centre for scrutiny.

To obtain central grant for the development of Rankala Tank, which has the potential to be a tourist destination, the KMC prepared a comprehensive report taking the help of a group of professors at Kolhapur Institute of Technology.

KMC gave Rs 7 lakh as advance out of the total sum of Rs 34 lakh to be paid to the KIT professors. However, the environmental activists opposed the report which, they allege, is faulty and detrimental to the environment safety.

They claim the report is interpolated with a few pages of a college text book and maps already prepared by KMC.

When asked about the allegations and prospective action, Uday Gaikwad, an enviornmental activist, told Business Standard that serious lacunae in the report have been pointed out to both the corporators and the KMC Commissioner Kunal Kumar who assured that he will consider suggestions and recommendations submitted by the group.

"Although the report has been submitted to the state government, we are waiting for the commissioner's action on the matter. We will take legal action if nothing materialises" Gaikwad said.

When asked about the controversial report, the KMC commissioner said the said report was submitted to the government before he even took charge and in view of the new suggestions he would consider what further action.

When asked about the defects in the report, Gaikwad pointed out that the criteria mentioned by the Union government in the scheme are not duly followed in the report.

For instance, the report suggests reclamation of land for construction footpaths, toilets and washing sites. This provision would harm the purity of the water in lake. There is no scope for any reclamation in the scheme criteria.

The report also suggests an aeration plant for infusing lake water with oxygen. While such plants are meant for small factories to purify effluents, for a tank spread over 1,000 hectare area, such a plant is neither feasible nor affordable, said Gaikwad, adding, "If power supply fails, which happens frequently, the system would lose all effeciency".

Also, the report has not made any suggestions about the protection of the twenty species of birds that come to the tank during the breeding season.

"No provision is made for their safety or breeding ground. At present the tank is polluted with industrial waste that is drained into the lake. No provision has been made to check pollution. The botanical study to check the growth of harmful plants in the water is also lacking in the report," said Gaikwad.