Maharashtra says it will move Supreme Court if Almatti dam height is increased

Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Thursday that the Maharashtra government will challenge any move of Karnataka to increase the height of the Almatti dam in the Supreme Court. 

“We will move the Supreme Court,” said Fadnavis when asked about the decision of the Karnataka government to increase the height of the dam.

The statement came a day after Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah reiterated the state government’s commitment to increase the height of the Almatti dam from 519 metres to 524 metres and assured to provide fair and just compensation to farmers who lose their land to the Upper Krishna Project Phase-3.

Last month, the Maharashtra government communicated with the Centre on this issue, with Fadnavis writing to Union Minister of Jal Shakti C R Paatil.

Later, a delegation led by Water Resources (Godavari & Krishna Valley Development Corporation) Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil flagged concerns in New Delhi.

The Krishna River, the third-longest river on the Deccan Plateau after the Ganga and Godavari, originates from Mahabaleshwar in Satara district in the Western Ghats region.

During the heavy monsoon, the Western Maharashtra districts of Sangli and Kolhapur — which share borders with Karnataka — experience inundation and flooding. Increasing the height of the Almatti Dam could worsen the situation.

The Maharashtra government had asked the National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee, to conduct a detailed hydrodynamic and simulation study on the impact of the Almatti backwaters, and the final report is
awaited.