Bengaluru, Sept. 16 -- Karnataka Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot has returned the Karnataka Lake Conservation and Development Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2025, withholding his assent and raising strong objections to the state government's attempt to relax environmental safeguards around lakes and other water bodies.
Raj Bhavan officials today said that the Governor withheld approval for the amendment to Section 12 of the Act, which sought to reduce the buffer zone around lakes, tanks, and primary stormwater drains to 30 metres.
In his detailed note, the Governor questioned the rationale for shrinking the protective belt, stressing that any such reduction could jeopardise the ecological balance in rapidly expanding urban areas. He advised tha...