No eco-damage by Yettinahole project, says Centre

The Centre has said that there is no impact on the environment since only 13.93 hectares of forest land is being diverted for Yettinahole lift irrigation project near Sakleshpur in Hassan district.

Since this is a drinking water supply scheme, it does not attract the provisions of environment impact assessment (EIA) notification, 2006, and its subsequent amendment of 2009. Hence, it is exempted from environmental clearance, Minister of State for Jal Shakti Prahlad Singh Patel told the Rajya Sabha, in his reply to a question by JD(U)’s Aneel Prasad Hegde, during the recent session.

Clearance for stage-I for acquisition of 13.93 hectares of forest land required for the first phase has been obtained with some conditions from the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) on January 29, 2016. Clearance for stage-II was obtained with some conditions from MoEF on September 15, 2016.

The National Green Tribunal gave the go-ahead on October 5, 2017.

As per information provided by the state, the Yettinahole lift irrigation project is funded and executed by the state.

It aims to divert 24.01 tmcft of surplus water from west flowing streams of Western Ghats to provide drinking water to 6,557 villages and 38 towns in 29 taluks of seven drought-prone districts of Chikkaballapur, Kolar, Chikkamagaluru, Hassan, Tumakuru, Ramanagar and Bengaluru Rural.

Hegde asked whether the Yettinahole project was underway for pumping water from the Netravati river in Dakshina Kannada district through Western Ghats to supply drinking water to eastern districts of the state. The project may harm the environment in the process, he said.