Contemplating the creation of district-wise water bodies atlas: Minister NS Boseraju

Bengaluru: For the conservation and development of water bodies in the state, a district-wise atlas of water bodies has been thought of, and in this regard, Minor Irrigation, Science and Technology Minister N S Boseraju instructed the officials of Karnataka Lake Conservation and Development Authority.

He held a progress review meeting of Karnataka Lake Conservation and Development Authority on Wednesday and got comprehensive information about the authority.

The Authority has been constituted in accordance with the instructions of the National Green Tribunal for the conservation and development of the water bodies of the state. The Chief Minister is the Chairman of this Authority and the Minister of Minor Irrigation is the Vice-Chairman. This authority is entrusted with important responsibilities. However, the authority is lagging behind in effectively implementing the powers conferred on it, and the minister lashed out at the officials who failed to implement the basic objectives of the authority.

There are 34,487 lakes under the authority. The conservation and development of these lakes is being undertaken by the respective in-charge departments. A separate authority set up for the conservation and development of water bodies should take up the implementation of new projects. The minister instructed the officials to formulate plans in this regard.

Several projects have been initiated by the authority to identify water bodies in the state. By consolidating all these water bodies and forming an atlas, the conservation of water bodies will be facilitated. The Minister instructed the officials to formulate a proposal in this regard.

Karnataka Lake Conservation and Development Authority Chief Executive Officer Yatish Chandra, Director Shivaswamy and many other officials were present in the meeting.