DKS acknowledges issues in plan sanction because of reliance on old maps

Acknowledging that there were problems with plan sanction around water bodies in Bengaluru, Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar said the Cabinet would discuss the issue and convey it to the court.

The Deputy Chief Minister told the Legislative Council, in response to a question from Janata Dal (Secular) member T.A. Sharavana, that there were High Court orders about buffer zones and Lake Conservation and Development Authority was also strict about the conservation of water bodies.

Pointing out that the 1918 village map of Bengaluru and the 1962 survey document are old, Mr. Sharavana said that several lakes have lost their character of lakes due to development. “Re-survey of Bengaluru has to be conducted to update revenue records. Because of old surveys and village maps, getting plan sanction has become a big problem in the city. Plan sanction is being denied in many cases,” he said.

Mr Shivakumar acknowledged that there were issues in the plan sanction. “Raja kaluves have been encroached upon and courts have held strong views on the issue. We will discuss the issue in the next Cabinet and present a few things before the court. We will handle genuine cases.”