Unsung Heroes: Dr U V Singh, IFS officer known for exposing illegal mining, is also protector of Bengaluru lakes
The Indian Express | 5 days ago | 08-10-2022 | 10:40 pm
The Indian Express
5 days ago | 08-10-2022 | 10:40 pm
In 2011, a few months before he submitted a report on the illegal mining of iron ore by a cartel with deep connections in the BJP government in Karnataka, forest officer Dr U V Singh was attacked by a Bengaluru councillor’s henchmen while investigating a tip-off that industrial effluents were being dumped in the Nagawara lake in the city.The incident highlighted the efforts of the Indian Forest Service officer, who was then head of the Lake Development Authority, in protecting the lakes of the state capital, and the hurdles conscientious civil servants were up against in a system with little concern for the environment.Best known for his exposure of the illegal mining of iron ore in Ballari between 2004 and 2011 and the resultant environment degradation, Dr Singh, now retired, has also been a central figure in efforts to protect Bengaluru lakes.Apart from initiatives undertaken under the now-disbanded Lake Development Authority over a decade ago, Dr Singh has been part of panels reporting on the health of waterbodies in the “city of lakes”, including the age-old Bellandur lake–which was in the news last month after heavy rain led to flooding in posh areas around it for several days.In a paper published a couple of years ago on the lakes of Bengaluru, Dr Singh lamented that the major issues around the protection of lakes had “remained the same” as pointed out by the Lakshman Rau Committee in 1988 and, more recently, the Karnataka High Court. The problems persist, according to the paper on Bengaluru’s “changing wetland ecosystem”, despite being raised “time and again through committee reports and court orders”.At the root of the flooding in Bengaluru, Dr Singh says, is the fact that lakes and marshy areas in the city’s low-lying south-eastern parts—where rainwater reaches from the higher central and eastern parts—have now become areas of human habitation.“Earlier there was no habitation and the water would collect in these marshy and lake areas and slowly run off to the Pinakini river further south. Now most of these marshy areas have become built-up areas, and water will remain in these built-up areas since they are three-four feet lower than surrounding areas. There is no percolation of water either,” he said.“There are also hardly any storm-water drains of large width available for water flow–some have been encroached on or diverted. It is quite a mess. These four or five factors that have not been addressed over the years are at the root of the flooding seen in September in Bengaluru,” said the former chief conservator of forests.According to Dr Singh, the concept behind the Lake Development Authority was noble but the body had few legal powers. “The LDA had lofty objectives like protection, conservation, reclamation, restoration, rejuvenation and integrated development of lakes, but not enough infrastructure and statutory powers. The LDA also had jurisdiction over lakes in other cities. It had 11 lakes in Bengaluru city under it,” said the former head of the LDA, which was abolished in 2018.The lakes in Bengaluru are now under the control of the corporation, the Bengaluru Development Authority and the forest department. “It is observed that the BBMP has rejuvenated about 74 lakes in its jurisdiction. But as per a report of the Indian Institute of Science, only six-eight lakes are being maintained,” Dr Singh said. “Rest of them are again going back to their original state of affairs.”Dr Singh’s paper singled out encroachments as a primary reason for the destruction of the lake ecosystem in Bengaluru. “Due to the regular inflow of sewage water into most of the lakes in the Bengaluru corporation area and also in some lakes of surrounding areas, the water quality of lakes are found to be non-consumable and many of them are highly polluted,” the paper stated.“This has been a concern for a long time. More than 30 or 40 lakes have been allotted (for construction purposes). The disappearance of these lakes has resulted in water flowing on to the roads in the city, particularly in the eastern parts,” Dr Singh said.Reflecting on the recent flooding in the information technology corridor in southeast Bengaluru, the former forest official called for regulating the water flow from lakes like Bellandur and Varthur during the monsoon. “There is flooding every year. But because more rain was received in the span of one week, the situation was worse this year. This happens only once in two decades. The Bellandur lake was under rejuvenation and the work was not completed,” Dr Singh said.“The water that flows into Bellandur does not get impounded and water tends to overflow. The two major lakes in the region—Bellandur and Varthur—must get emptied before the monsoon and that should be the strategy because the lakes must fill up without excessive overflow in the monsoon. The excess water that is standing in areas around the lakes should be impounded in these two lakes. There should be de-silting and proper maintenance of lakes before the monsoon,” he explained.Dr Singh, now 64, has a doctorate in zoology with a thesis on insect hormones. He has written a book on birds in Karnataka and sits on a monitoring committee appointed by the Supreme Court to look into issues around illegal mining in Goa, Karnataka, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.“When there are illegalities, there will be a situation where circumstances will build up against the illegalities. Nature also plays a role because once nature becomes intolerant, it will find a way–or some means for a solution,” Dr Singh said.
