The Karnataka Government has proposed to fix buffer zones for water bodies based on the size of the water bodies, including tanks, lakes and nalas. It has clarified that the new reduced buffer zone fixation is not to help real estate development but to have uniform buffer zones based on the size of the water bodies across the State.

As per the proposal, the buffer zone is sought to be removed for tanks less than 5 guntas while setting a buffer of 3 meters for tanks between 5 guntas and one acre, 6 meters for tanks between one acre and ten acres, 13 meters for tanks between 10 acres and 25 acres, 24 meters for tanks between 25 acres and 100 acres and 30 meters for tanks that are bigger than 100 acres.

For canals, the Government proposes to bring down the buffer zone for primary canal from the current 30 meters to 15 meters, for secondary canal 15 meters to 10 meters and for tertiary canals from 10 meters to 5 meters.

Currently the buffer zone in the State is based on the National Green Tribunal (NGT) order of 2016 pertaining to lakes in Bengaluru that was subsequently modified by the Supreme Court. The State Government had issued orders for the current buffer zone in 2019. Accordingly, the buffer zone for lakes was fixed at 30 meters, primary canal at 30 meters, secondary canal is 25 meters and tertiary canal is 10 meters.

In Karnataka, 41,849 lakes have been identified having between one gunta and 1,000 acres. Some of the public services such as drinking water pipelines, undergoing electricity cables, roads and bridges connecting to major roads, lift irrigation projects, jack wells, pump houses and sewage water treatment facilities among many others are in the buffer zones.

A note from Karnataka Tank Conservation and Development Authority on Sunday said that the proposed buffer, a first of its kind in the country, is based on the studies conducted in different states and petitions recived from Kundapura legislator and deputy commissioner of Udupi, who have said that the uniform buffer zone for water bodies has been fixed without considering the size and the same has been made applicable to water bodies irrespective of whether they are one gunta or 1,000 acres. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar have had held the meetings following which a committee too had been set up to study the issue.

The note said that in many cases in Udupi district, it was found that the buffer zones are bigger than the water bodies and in other places the buffer zone was bigger than the size of the canals. It said that in Tamil Nadu a uniform buffer zone of 3 meters has been fixed while in Gujarat the buffer zone is 9 meters. In Telengana, the buffer zone of 30 meters is fixed for tanks bigger than 10 hectares and a buffer of 9 meters is fixed for tanks below 9 hectares.

Outlining benefits of the new buffer zone, the authority argued that only those projects that are in the interest of public services would be taken up without obstructing the inflow of water to the water bodies. In several places, the declared buffer zones have private properties where a no construction zone is in effect, it said, adding that the proposed buffer zone would help mitigate floods in urban centres and helps in development of infrastructure. It also said that the new buffer zones would help in setting up of sewage treatment plants near water bodies to prevent its pollution and reduction of buffer zones would not affect aquatic life. Th new proposal is a balance between development and conservation issues, it added.