State now proposes to denotify dried up tanks
- The proposal to denotify dried up lakes, tanks and other water bodies in the State has drawn flak
- The groundwater level must be increased by rejuvenating tanks and lakes and not denotify
- The Panchayath Raj Department director has said that the department strongly opposes the proposal
- The officials said that Revenue Minister Kagodu Thimmappa is rethinking on the proposal
FollowThe proposal to denotify dried up lakes, tanks and other water bodies in the State has drawn flak. Various departments of the government have expressed protest over the proposal. The groundwater level must be increased by rejuvenating tanks and lakes and not denotify. Even Panchayath Raj Department and Minor Irrigation Department have taken strong objection to the proposal.
The Revenue general secretary has prepared a proposal recommending denotifying the dried up tanks, lakes, tanks with buildings and those lakes that cannot be rejuvenated across the State and consider them as government lands. However, this proposal has already attracted fierce opposition from various departments of the government, reports Kannada Prabha.
On the one hand, the government is making all efforts to conserve water bodies in the State and on the other hand, attempts to denotify the dried up tanks and lakes will lead to misappropriation of government assets and this is a dangerous proposal felt the chiefs of various departments. The proposal states that the dried up tanks and lakes are difficult to rejuvenate and that the poor landless have already constructed houses there and living. To allow them to live, denotifying the dried up lake is essential, and it is the only way the letter argues.
It has been decided to place the proposal before the legislative assembly and three months ago, on April 22, letters have been written to various department heads seeking their opinion. Finance, Minor Irrigation, Urban Development, Forest and Environment, Law and Parliamentary Affairs, RDPR departments have been asked to submit their reaction to the proposal. The Panchayath Raj Department has already submitted its reaction to the proposal, reports Kannada Prabha.
The Panchayath Raj Department director has said that it strongly opposes the proposal as day by day the number of tanks, lakes and other water bodies are dwindling in size and instead of developing, rejuvenating, and improving the groundwater, denotifying is a wrong approach it said. The Minor Irrigation Department director also has the same opinion but he has not yet written the letter reports Kannada Prabha. The officials said that Revenue Minister Kagodu Thimmappa is rethinking on the proposal.
