Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai informed the Assembly on Wednesday that the deadlock over the Upper Krishna Project-III will "most likely" end early next year.
The long-pending UKP-III will increase the height of the Almatti dam from 519 to 524 metres. This requires acquiring 1.34 lakh acres. The project will irrigate 14.6 lakh acres in Vijayapura, Kalaburagi, Raichur, Yadgir, Gadag and Koppal districts.
However, the project has moved at a snail’s pace as the Centre has not notified the 2013 award of the Krishna water disputes tribunal-II giving 177 tmcft to Karnataka, which plans to use 130 tmcft for irrigation.
"After the tribunal award, Andhra Pradesh went to the Supreme Court, which asked the Centre not to issue a notification until the matter is settled. This was Andhra Pradesh's dispute with Maharashtra. Then, the Andhra-Telangana bifurcation happened," Bommai, a former water resources minister, explained in the Assembly during a debate on irrigation projects of north Karnataka.
"After I became the CM, an early hearing happened. The SC has asked the Centre to specify its stand. In the next hearing (on January 10), the Centre will spell out its stand. We’re following it up closely. It's in the final stages. Most likely, there’ll be an outcome," he said.
Bommai said Karnataka argued in the court citing Section 15 of the States Reorganisation Act. "Any dispute between two states - an earlier state with a new state - needs a separate tribunal and it’ll have nothing to do with earlier disputes. Telangana has already withdrawn its petition after our clarification. This has made our way smooth," he said.
On Mahadayi, Bommai said Karnataka awaited necessary clearances from the Centre for the detailed project report. "But, ultimately, it depends on the SC," he said, adding that all three states - Karnataka, Maharashtra and Goa - have challenged the award of the Mahadayi tribunal.
Earlier, former Congress minister M B Patil and former JD(S) chief minister H D Kumaraswamy spoke at length on the irrigation sector, especially UKP-III.
"From 2013 till now, only 22,309 acres have been acquired. Imagine how long it'll take to acquire all 1.34 lakh acres if the same speed continues,” Kumaraswamy said, urging the BJP to mount pressure on its own party’s government at the Centre.
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