The state seems to be stealthily moving to gift away government land in the upmarket Banjara Hills to private parties. The Hyderabad district revenue administration and a private individual, Ghousia Begum, have been fighting over five acres of land near Kalinga Bhavan in Banjara Hills for several years now. On Tuesday, chief secretary Pankaj Dwivedi issued orders (GO Ms No 2342) constituting a Group of Ministers to examine “issues relating to regularisation of lands.”

Rampant dumping of scrap into the Mithi at Kurla has undone all the effort to de-silt the river. The residents of Kapadia Nagar, Kurla (West), complained that the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has started the work a bit too late to finish before monsoon. Besides, the work will only yield result if action is taken against scrap dealers who dump waste into the river. Like every year, this year too there are fears that the low-lying Kapadia Nagar complex, comprising around 750 flats in 24 buildings, will be waterlogged during monsoon.

The cabinet yesterday approved a draft bill that aims to stop misuse of surface, ground and river water and preserve and manage water resources in an integrated manner.

Redirecting and intercepting the normal flow of rivers and blocking any river branches are illegal under the proposed law. It says the owner of a piece of land adjacent to any river will not have the ownership of the riverbed and foreshore.

Environmentalists yesterday demanded formulation and implementation of a specific land use policy and more budgetary allocation for environment conservation to tackle the effects of pollution.

“A land use policy is required in every upazila and this could be initiated from an area, like Savar,” said former Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (Bapa) president Prof Muzaffer Ahmad at a press conference in the capital's Dhaka Reporters Unity.

Government agencies yet to take action to protect the 60-acre lake

Residents of Keelkattalai are shocked and angry over the dumping of construction rubble into the Keelkattalai lake over the past few days. The lake, one of the few precious water bodies that hasn't, until now, been damaged by encroachment and pollution, presents a serene view to people travelling on the Pallavaram – Thoraipakkam Radial Road, say residents of Gandhi Nagar. Spread over 60 acres,

The High Court yesterday directed the authorities concerned to stop encroachment on the river Turag at Gabtoli point in the capital, and remove illegal structures from the point within 24 hours.

The court also asked the chairman of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) and deputy commissioner of Dhaka to take appropriate legal actions against those responsible for encroaching and constructing structures in that river point.

Public land grabbing is on the rise. So also the government vigilance often brings the culprits to book. The Directorate of Environment (DoE) on Thursday realized Taka 40 lakh from 'Hallmark Group', an industrial company, for their alleged involvement in land grabbing and illegal earth filing in suburban Savar after hours of the judgment. Director of DoE Mohammad Munir Chowdhury fined the hallmark group and asked to stop the illegal earth filling work. Following the directive, the group stopped their illegal work and the DoE realized the full fine money.

The Kempambudhi lake is all set to be a centre of tourist attraction after two months, if the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has its way.

Desiltation, cleaning of the lake and boating facilities, etc, will provide a new lease of life to the City’s oldest water body. Choked with weeds, hyacinth and sewage, the lake, at present, is an eyesore to the public. Constructed by the founder of Bangalore, Kempegowda, the water body served as a catchment area.

JAIPUR: The Rajasthan High Court on Monday came down heavily on the state government over illegal allotments and encroachments in the catchment area of water bodies in the state, saying the government was encouraging such illegality with active aide of its officials.

The harsh criticism came soon after the government moved an application demanding that the PIL related to encroachments of water bodies shall be heard by a division bench when the court was about to pronouncement its judgment after several months of hearing.