ESG Meet 23 September 2009. A Brief Report.

The Conference was from 9:30 AM to about 4PM. Attended by about 50 odd people. The organizers were disappointed  a little as their expectations were much more.

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From Environment Support Group Meet 26 September 2009. A Brief Report. Kindly Click on the link to see the Picassa album for more pictures.

Bhargavi S Rao of ESG was the coordinator. 

Laxman Rao of Forest department.

He gave the introduction to this seminar. Focus on lakes was given by With urbanization as the driving engine Urban areas have doubled from 20 to the current 40% levels. This has direct effect on Quality of life vis a vis reduction of open lung spaces. Bangalore in 1949 was approximately 49 Sq km. It has expanded to about 760 Sq. km, in 2009. The growth is almost exponential. The norm of lung space which is around 11 Sq mt per person, has decreased from 7 to 2.82 sq. mt. as on 2003 stats. 

Topology of Bangalore, at height of 3000 ft above sea level, is basically these three valleys:-

1. Varthur / Bellandur
2. Hebbal
3. Rishabahvati 

Morning Session

1. Esha Shah 

“A Historical Anthropology of Tank Irrigation Technology in South India (The scientific study of the origin, the behavior, and the physical, social, and cultural development of humans) “

The above paper was presented by Esha, a research fellow with the institute for development studies at the University of Sussex UK. She an environmental engineer turned in to a social scientist teaching anthropology and history of science and technology related to agrarian development in India. Her talk mainly focused on South Indian mythology (A body or collection of myths belonging to a people and addressing their origin, history, deities, ancestors, and heroes.) relevant to tank history. 

Conclusions: The tanks in south India were constructed by the hard labor of “Voddas” a labor class tank builders. They are considered as lower class socially. This was under coercion  Esha has collected loads of folk lore on the subject of method of tank building, water deities and worshiping water god so to say in ancient India. 

2. Professor Ravindra  

He covered important area on the dynamics of Lakes. These lakes were all interconnected by a canal system called “Rajakaluves”, on the three valleys as mentioned above. Bangalore which had 543 lakes to begin with has currently about 372 covering approximately 593 hectakers. There were 1260 minor lakes. The lakes were manly seasonal to start with. Now they have been transformed in to perennial lakes. Thanks to sanitary / sewage water which is flowing in the Storm Water Drains discharging directly in to the lakes. There are a network of 12 Rajakluves which are encroached upon. Approximately about 8000 mld of untreated sewagewater is carried in the existing rajakaulves. Approximately 7 crores per lake is the cost of rejuvenation of these lakes. Mnay of these lakes were seasonal serving as fott ball / hockey fields during dry days of the year.

3. Justice Santosh Hegde  

He dealt with the government’s total failure in Town Planning in not segregating Industrial / IT area from residential / Business area. He was also critical of government not developing IT in other parts of Karnataka like Tumkur Mysre Mangalore etc. In 1985 drought 200 hundred TN families migrated in to Bangalore. TN has not provided relief. To day a situation is created such that people of Karnataka have to migrate out of Bangalore. The Justice main lament was about the caliber of to days politicians who lack statesmanship. About lake encroachment his suggestion was PIL before start of actual construction begins. The main problem is the apartments where the money is collected from public, who become part of litigation. Each rupee spent by government only 15 paisa reaches the beneficiary. GDP goes up but it is mainly those of tatas and birlas. Cross your fingers. 

The next generation will have to rediscover 100 lies of Hitler. Learn to live with nature rather than perish in concrete jungles.

Judges need to be: 

1. educated in Institutions like National Judicial    Academies.
2. Be accountable
3. Understanding importance of intrim   orders
4. Sensiitising Babus
5. Understanding Lakes as no mans land
6. Etc

Post Lunch Session

1. AR Shiva Kumar,  Executive Secretary, i/c and principle Investigator – RWH KSCST, IISc Bangalore. 

Air Water and Light are the three natural resources responsible for life on the planet earth. Water resourece are:-

1. Natural Springs [No more common]
2. Step Wells [What are they?]
3. Ponds
4. Lakes 

Chellaghatta Lake is now KGF Glof course. Rishibhavati valley water goes back to cauvey. 57% of Cauvery water pumped to Bangalore is not accounted. Bangalore gets 1000 mm of rain. People are so much accustomed to centrally piped water that even in cities like Sakaleshpur people struggle for drinking water. We can do away with half the present Cauvery water. 

2. Lawyer Sunil 

He compared Litigation as remedy for injustice to a stone used for fighting. Mitigation of deleterious effects on environment of any kind of developmental activity should be enforceable under the present law of the country. He gave some details of the PIL on lakes of Bangalore. Lakes belong to revenue department currently. He informed us that Laxman rao committee report has been accepted by the government. Government has passed an order that all lakes should be transferred to forest department with Natural Fencing of Trees. Lake development authority which is a non profit organization making money from lakes is not correct. Public access to lakes being mandatory charging entry fee by privatizing is not legal. The PIL is Forest Department Vs Governament. 

3. AT Ramaswamy  (Chairman of Ramaswamy committee ) 

In short his talk centered on corruption that has reached its pinnacle, in all spears of life. This was really a sad story. I did not take notes. He spoke very well. His speech was in Kannada. (I thought he was a politician) 

4. Leo Saldhana Convener ESG. 

He did a wonderful job hosting the meeting and the second session.