State tells SC it filed for Kalasa-Banduri approval, Centre begs to differ

The Karnataka government has claimed before the Supreme Court that it had applied for forest clearance of the Kalasa-Banduri drinking water project. This is in clear contrast to the affidavit filed by the Union government before the court.

It has received no proposal from Karnataka for environmental clearance of the project, the Union government has told the court. Neither has it so far accorded any permission to Karnataka for the works, the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change told the court on August 12, in an affidavit filed through advocate S Wasim A Qadri.

However, contrary to the Centre’s stand, the state government submitted a list of dates “to establish that applications had been made to the Ministry by Karnataka for forest clearance of the project”.

The court had, on August 3, asked the Centre and Karnataka government to submit if environmental and forest clearances were granted to the project. “It is a serious matter,” the bench said, on a contention by a Goa-based NGO that no such clearance was granted to the project in the Western Ghats. The court is set to hear the matter on Thursday.

In its response, Karnataka claimed that its chief conservator of forests had written on May 19, 2001 to the Centre, regarding diversion of 258 hectares of forest land for the construction of the Kalasa Nulla (canal).

It also said that on July 6, 2001, the state received letters to “communicate approval” for diversion of 258 hectares of forest land for Kalasa Nulla and for diversion of 243 of such land for Banduri Nalla.

The Ministry of Water Resources also “accorded in-principle clearance to water availability angle” to Karnataka for diversion of 7.56 tmc ft from Mahadayi basin to meet the drinking water needs of Hubballi and Dharwad, it said.

Karnataka said, on April 30, 2008, the forest bench of the apex court “did not pass any order staying the construction undertaken by the state in non-forest area.”

After the apex court’s February 20, 2009 directions to the Union government for a meeting with Karnataka officials on the Mahadayi river dispute and its environmental aspects, the state claimed it shot off several letters for a meeting, but it did not materialise. “On August 19, 2009, Karnataka wrote to the Centre, requesting for a fresh date for the meeting. The Centre has not intimated any fresh date,” it said.