In an operation that started at around 7 a.m. on Saturday, the revenue department took possession of three acres that had been encroached by the promoters of Bagmane Tech Park. The land forms the periphery of the picturesque Byrasandra lake.
Armed with a court order, officials of the department turned up at the site with the police in attendance.
The earth moving machinery, though, was not of much use as there were only a few temporary structures in the area that was reclaimed on behalf of the State.
Saturday's action was in compliance with an order passed by the High Court in a PIL filed by the NGO Environment Support Group.
Bangalore district Deputy Commissioner G.C Prakash, who has been pursuing the case in the High Court on behalf of the State, said that there's a stay on the demolition order for another piece of land. This is the portion where there are many buildings, he said.
"The BTP has built offices in 10 guntas of encroached land, one Ramaiah has built around 50 houses as well as tennis courts on land that belongs to the lake. There's also a hotel in three guntas and Adarsha Apartments have built flats on 10 guntas," he told The Hindu . However, there's a stay on demolishing these structures, he said while expressing hope that it will be lifted soon.
He also said that similar action will follow in other parts of the city where builders and developers had encroached government land, particularly lake beds.
