Divisional Commissioner of Udaipur Subodh Kumar Agrawal has drilled the legal committees today to stopping all the illegal encroachment in the no-construction zones around city’s lakes during a meeting at the Divisional Commissioner’s Office. He asked the officials involved to provide a solution to the illegal construction in accordance with the instructions given by the High Court and produce a report for the same within the next 15 days to relieve the city of the illegal construction work. The Divisional Commissioner was addressing a meeting of the Lake Promotion Committee and Lake Development Society. He mentioned that the court had initially impeded construction around the lakes in 1997, though the city’s population had also seen a considerable increase at approximately the same time. Subodh Agrawal has asked the Additional Commissioner Pragya Kevalramani, President of the Legal Aid Committee, who also plays a vital role in instructing the committee members to produce their respective reports within the next 15 days. Additionally, Hemant Gera, District Collector has also updated the administration on the activities which are underway to prevent such encroachment. Regarding the construction of the inner ring road to ease the high volume traffic from road, Gera has mentioned that the city is facing certain problems due to the lack of accessible land. Thus, a walk-way will be constructed instead of the road as a solution to this issue. Hemant Gera has also sparked the idea of hoteliers using a system of natural gas, battery as well as solar power to prevent pollution in lakes and has asked officials related to these fields to promote these methods among these businesses. Agrawal has also reduced the annual fees of boat operators at Jaisamand Lake, which is managed by the Tribal Committee. He said that the new annual fee would be Rs.1200/-. “The periphery of the water catchment area of Lake Pichola has been encircled,” said the UIT secretary Dr. R.P Sharma. “Of the 22 lakes in Udaipur, the Water Conservation Department has built the boundary wall for 5 while the remaining 17 are currently under construction.” The meeting also oversaw a census of the total number of boats being operated in various catchment areas as well as the fixation of the boating fee. Rajni Dangi, Chairperson for the Municipal Council stated the importance of gaining the permission to allow construction in prohibited areas to accommodate the rise in population of those living in the vicinity of the lakes, a statement which was also agreed upon by Roopkumar Khurana, President of UIT. The Divisional Commissioner also instructed the Chairperson of the Municipal Council to provide two boats in order to patrol the shores of both Lakes Fatehsagar and Pichola. Four committees have been jointly established in order to prevent illegal construction in areas surrounding the lakes. The Legal Committee will be headed by Additional Divisional Commissioner Pragya Kevalramani, the Prevention of Illegal Construction Committee by Additional District Collector (City) Yasin Pathan, the Committee for Environment, Beautification and Maintenance by Additional District Collector (Administration) B. R. Bhatt and the Control Committee by District Revenue Officer M.L. Chauhan.