Shivamogga Deputy Commissioner K.B. Shivakumar has instructed officers to clear the encroachments upon tanks in the district. He held a video conference with taluk officers on this issue at his office in Shivamogga on Thursday.
Following the direction of the National Green Tribunal a district-level committee had been constituted to clear tank encroachments. The officers should conduct a survey of tanks and clear the encroachments. Later, the tanks should be handed over to the departments concerned. A nodal officer would be appointed to each tank. If the tanks were encroached upon further, the nodal officer concerned would be held responsible.
At the taluk level, tahsildars should form a committee of officers to clear the encroachments. An action plan should be prepared to achieve this. The committee could initiate legal action against the encroachers if they refused to budge after issuing them notices, the DC said.
Shivamogga district has a total of 6,803 tanks spread over 51,368 acres. So far the survey of 1,373 tanks has been completed and an area of 11,152 acres had been identified. The survey of the remaining 5,430 tanks, spread over 39,801 acres, was yet to be done, officers said in the meeting.
Additional SP H.T. Shekhar and Additional DC Nagendra Honnalli were present at the meeting.
