<p>Bengaluru: Karnataka will pay Rs 257 crore to the Union Environment Ministry towards penalties and mitigation costs for the Yettinahole drinking water project, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said on Thursday, adding that he has directed officials to release the amount immediately.</p>.<p>“The project was delayed as the Central Forest Ministry raised some objections. I held discussions with the central minister a couple of times and the Centre has given its approval, while imposing certain conditions for forest clearance.”</p>.<p>“We are in the process of transferring (compensatory) land to the Forest Department from the Revenue Department. At present, 10% of the process is still pending and we will complete it within a <br>week.”</p>.Karnataka unveils draft excise policy, links liquor prices to ‘social cost’ .<p>“Once we clear the mitigation cost, the contractors will resume pending works within a week. We will survey land acquisition in Tumakuru too amid police protection,” Shivakumar, also the water resources minister, said after a review meeting of Yettinahole, Mekedatu and Upper Bhadra projects held in Vidhana Soudha.</p>.<p>The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) had flagged delays and funding gaps in the project. Nearly Rs 7,954 crore was still required to complete the scheme. Banks have declined further lending to the implementing agency (Visvesvaraya Jala Nigam Limited), citing a lack of revenue streams.</p>.<p>Assets worth nearly Rs 2,966 crore lay idle, as per the report tabled in the Legislative Assembly, which also noted the core objective of supplying drinking water to Kolar and Chikkaballapur remains unmet, a decade later, after spending Rs 15,000 crore.</p>.<p>“Also, the state has finalised a revised DPR on the Mekedatu project, which will be placed before the Central committee. Around 5,300 acres of land will be provided to the Forest Ministry as compensatory land. I will discuss it with Revenue Minister Krishna Byregowda to identify the land,” Shivakumar said.</p>
<p>Bengaluru: Karnataka will pay Rs 257 crore to the Union Environment Ministry towards penalties and mitigation costs for the Yettinahole drinking water project, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said on Thursday, adding that he has directed officials to release the amount immediately.</p>.<p>“The project was delayed as the Central Forest Ministry raised some objections. I held discussions with the central minister a couple of times and the Centre has given its approval, while imposing certain conditions for forest clearance.”</p>.<p>“We are in the process of transferring (compensatory) land to the Forest Department from the Revenue Department. At present, 10% of the process is still pending and we will complete it within a <br>week.”</p>.Karnataka unveils draft excise policy, links liquor prices to ‘social cost’ .<p>“Once we clear the mitigation cost, the contractors will resume pending works within a week. We will survey land acquisition in Tumakuru too amid police protection,” Shivakumar, also the water resources minister, said after a review meeting of Yettinahole, Mekedatu and Upper Bhadra projects held in Vidhana Soudha.</p>.<p>The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) had flagged delays and funding gaps in the project. Nearly Rs 7,954 crore was still required to complete the scheme. Banks have declined further lending to the implementing agency (Visvesvaraya Jala Nigam Limited), citing a lack of revenue streams.</p>.<p>Assets worth nearly Rs 2,966 crore lay idle, as per the report tabled in the Legislative Assembly, which also noted the core objective of supplying drinking water to Kolar and Chikkaballapur remains unmet, a decade later, after spending Rs 15,000 crore.</p>.<p>“Also, the state has finalised a revised DPR on the Mekedatu project, which will be placed before the Central committee. Around 5,300 acres of land will be provided to the Forest Ministry as compensatory land. I will discuss it with Revenue Minister Krishna Byregowda to identify the land,” Shivakumar said.</p>
