Delay in Yaragol project resented

District administration blamed for not handing over land to construct reservoir

The meeting of the Committee held here on Saturday felt that the work on the project that would supply drinking water to the City has been stalled as the land has not been handed over. It was decided to submit a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner to expedite handing over of the land.

The members of the Committee said that while the work on laying pipeline to supply water to Kolar, Malur and Bangarpet taluks has already begun, that on construction of the reservoir is yet to take off. The work cannot be commenced unless the land is handed over to Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board. The district administration has been causing delay in giving possession of the gomala land, that would be submerged for construction of the reservoir, they alleged.

The Board has clarified that tenders cannot be called before the land is handed over and hence only the work on laying pipelines is in progress. “The water scarcity in Kolar would aggravate if the same situation is allowed to continue,” they apprehended.

Funds released

The State government has released Rs 49 crore for the project and the balance of Rs 111 crore is yet to be released.  A sum of Rs 36 crore has been received from the Union government and the State government should prevail upon the former to release balance of Rs 44 crore. The project should register progress to seek release of funds, and the progress cannot be achieved without handing over the land.

The government won’t release funds to a project which has not made any progress, the members of the Committee felt. However, it was felt that successful implementation of Yaragol project is indispensable for Kolar and the struggle for water should not be politicised. “Politicisation will defeat the very purpose of the struggle and will be a hindrance in achieving the goal,” the members noted.

The meeting also decided to wage a unified struggle to ensure that the ambitious project is implemented without any hassles. Students too should be involved in the movement and a campaign should be launched with focus on conservative use of water.

Time bound action

There was a suggestion to put a time frame to the Deputy Commissioner for handing over of the land. City Municipal Council president Madhusudhana Kumar said inordinate has already been caused as a result of which the  project is crippling.

“There is no question of imposing a deadline. Let us meet the Deputy  Commissioner directly and urge him to hand over the land. Let us also seek the reason for the delay caused in handing over the land, so far,” he suggested.

However, the meeting later  decided to grant time. It was also resolved that all the members of City Municipal Council should function as conveners for the Action Committee. City Municipal Council vice-president V K Rajesh, members S R Muraligowda, Raghu, Somashekhar, advocates Krishna, Dhanaraj and others were present.