What is in news : The CAG report titled ‘Performance Audit of Management of StormWater in Bengaluru Urban Area’ showed that the shrinking of water bodies and drains has led to a loss of connectivity between the water bodies and the drains.

Details:

• Released in the last week of September
• Titled ‘Performance Audit of Management of Storm Water in Bengaluru Urban Area’
• Highlighted the issue of encroachment of lakes in the city and the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike’s (BBMP) failure to link drains with Storm Water Drains (SWDs)
• Showed that the shrinking of water bodies and drains has led to a loss of connectivity between the water bodies and the drains.
• According to the report, the BBMP was yet to remove 714 encroachments out of the identified 2,626 encroachments near water bodies in various zones.
• The audit observed 23 cases of significant encroachments, of which 16 cases were not in the list provided by the BBMP
• The joint inspection of drains showed that the SWDs were not directly connected to the water bodies, lakes in a few cases and the runoff was flowing into constructed deviation canals.
• Highlights the issue of conversion and concretisation of water bodies. For instance, the Kamakshipalya lake has been turned into a sports ground and the Dasarahalli tank converted into the Dr BR Ambedkar stadium.
• The lakes division of the BBMP, of the 210 lakes/water bodies in Bengaluru, 66 were yet to be developed, 18 disused and 37 lakes were in the process of being rejuvenated. The 18 lakes that were reported to be in a state of disuse cover a total area of 254 acres. There is a significant chance of these lakes being encroached and converted for other uses in the future.
• Dumping of solid waste, construction debris and so on in SWDs, lake catchment and in lakes.
• Sustained inflow of partially or untreated sewage, polluting existing surface and subsurface water resources.
• Reduced water holding capacity due to accumulation of silt and debris.
• Loss of interconnectivity between water bodies.