Wetlands have been a major casualty in the planning process. How significant a contributor is this? Flouting of laws is widespread, as you can tell by the number of citizen and civic PILs being heard in the NGT and court right now. Cutting a long story short, there are many other factors that contribute to this ‘wicked problem’.ĬAG has pointed out how multiple laws have been flouted. Lakes have also not been desilted for a long time. Add corruption to this toxic mix - for instance, many permissions to build on lake beds and wetlands in parts that are flooding were granted - and bad planning, roads have been built in a way that they sever drainage networks, and rainwater channels that were once wide have been made narrow. That topography has changed – builders have blasted rocks, levelled the land, and filled in the wetlands. Third, Bengaluru was a city with undulating terrain, such that rainwater could flow easily from hilly parts to wetlands and lakes. So, rainfall remains on the surface, collecting in large quantities and gathering force. The worst-hit areas have been those neighbouring lakes that flow into the Bellandur-Varthur network in southeast of Bengaluru, where wetlands have almost completely been concretised. Now, it falls on concrete, which can’t absorb water. Secondly, when Bengaluru was covered with grasslands, wetlands and trees, rainwater fell onto vegetation and soil, and was absorbed into the ground. Of course, there is heavy rainfall, but it is also - because of climate change - packed into a relatively small time period so there is less time for water to drain away before a second day’s rainfall begins. In management parlance and in climate change science, it is what is often called a ‘wicked’ problem. While record rainfall appears to be the immediate villain, is it the only reason for flooding? Flooding in cities is a complex problem with many causes.

Harini nagendra nature in the city