How reduced community participation is affecting Puttenahalli lake

What began as a citizen-led effort to restore and protect Puttenahalli Lake alongside the erstwhile Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is now at a crossroads. Residents associated with the lake say the waterbody, which evolved into a vibrant community space over the years, is gradually slipping back towards the neglected condition it was in more than a decade ago.

Members of the Puttenahalli Neighbourhood Lake Improvement Trust (PNLIT), which has been involved with the lake since its rejuvenation in 2010, attribute the decline to the absence of a formal agreement with the civic authorities. While the trust continues to engage with the lake, members say they can no longer undertake many of the activities that were possible when a MoU with BBMP was in place, limiting their role to programmes conducted during public visiting hours.

Arathi Manay, Managing Trustee of PNLIT, said the MoU gave the trust the flexibility to undertake maintenance work, organise activities and respond to issues at short notice without having to seek permissions each time. It also provided the credibility required to approach organisations for funding support whenever projects required resources beyond what could be raised through neighbourhood donations, she said.

Before the governance change, PNLIT spent nearly ₹8 lakh annually on maintaining the lake. The trust had engaged three to four gardeners to look after the premises and had installed a drip irrigation system along the lake’s periphery.

Without the MoU, Usha Rajagopalan, co-founder of PNLIT, said the trust’s role has been reduced largely to activities that any member of the public can undertake during visiting hours. “Occasional clean-up drives continue, but interventions requiring funding, planning or direct involvement in the lake’s upkeep are no longer possible,” she said, adding that activities outside public access hours require permissions and that the authority to undertake work at the lake no longer rests with the trust.

Residents and regular visitors say the impact of this reduced community participation is now becoming visible. Areas that were once maintained as green spaces are increasingly covered with dried leaves and withering vegetation, while several plants and trees around the lake have not been watered regularly as the drip irrigation system installed by the trust is no longer functional.

Narayana G., who has been visiting the lake for nearly 13 years, said the deterioration has become increasingly noticeable over the past six months. According to him, several plants have gradually died due to poor upkeep, while the condition of the lake has also affected bird activity. He said the lake would typically attract a large number of migratory birds during winter, but sightings have reduced as the quality of tree cover and the overall condition of the waterbody have deteriorated.

Ms. Manay pointed out that the change is particularly significant because the lake had grown into much more than just a waterbody. Over the years, it became a focal point for community engagement, with several initiatives revolving around the lake. Students from nearby settlements attended supplementary classes conducted by volunteers, while many activities regularly brought residents together.

“None of us were environmentalists. We were simply enthusiasts who wanted to do something for the lake around us. Our aim was to build a sense of ownership among residents and ensure that the lake did not slip back into neglect,” Ms. Rajagopalan said.

The trust traces its origins to 2010, when BBMP undertook the rejuvenation of Puttenahalli Lake. Initially conceived as a watchdog group to ensure that the restored lake did not relapse into neglect, the trust soon realised that active involvement would be necessary to sustain the gains made through rejuvenation. This led to the registration of PNLIT in 2010.

In May 2011, BBMP invited the trust to sign an MoU for maintenance of the lake, making PNLIT the first citizen-led group in Bengaluru to formally enter into such an arrangement with the civic body. The agreement ensured conservation and community engagement efforts around the lake for nearly 15 years. The arrangement came to an end in 2020 when the MoU expired. Around the same time, a Karnataka High Court order held that the government could not enter into agreements relating to lakes with corporate entities.

Ms. Rajagopalan said the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) must explore ways to formally involve communities living around lakes, as they are often best placed to identify problems, monitor changes and ensure regular upkeep.