Jal Shakti Minister assured meeting between Krishna basin states to resolve river water issue: D K Shivakumar

Shivakumar, along with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, met the Union Minister here on Thursday and apprised the state of ending issues with the Jal Shakti Ministry.

New Delhi: Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Friday said that Union Jal Shakti Minister C R Paatil has assured the state that he would convene a meeting with Krishna basin states to amicably resolve the dispute over Krishna river water soon.

Shivakumar, along with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, met the Union Minister here on Thursday and apprised the state of pending issues to with the Jal Shakti Ministry.

“We have raised the pending notification of Krishna Water Dispute Tribunal (KWDT) final award. The Minister assured us that a meeting between the Krishna river basin states- Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Maharashtra- will convene to understand the issues and resolve it amicably,” Shivakumar said.

"The land acquisition process for the Alamatti dam enhancement has already been done. We also requested the Centre to declare this project as a national project," Shivakumar said.

“We also brought the attention of the Minister on the Environmental clearance for the Kalasa-Bhanduri project. We appealed to the Minister to release some grants for the Yettinahole project as it is a drinking water project. The Minister has promised to look into the Detailed Project Report (DPR), "he said.

Asked about the Court order directing the release of Krishna waters, he said, “The water can’t be released all of a sudden. The Court also can’t issue an order regarding this. The MLAs of the Yadgir area had sought the release of water, but someone has moved the court.”

To a question on why the Congress-ruled state government is hesitating to talk to the DMK-ruled Tamil Nadu on the Mekedatu project, Shivakumar said, “ They are doing their politics, and we do ours. We have a different method to handle the issue.”