Maharashtra will move Supreme Court if Karnataka goes ahead with plan to increase Almatti dam's height: CM Devendra Fadnavis

Pune: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said the state government will approach the Supreme Court if Karnataka goes ahead with its plan to increase the height of Almatti dam.

His statement comes days after Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said his government was committed to raising the Almatti dam's height.

Talking to reporters in Pune, Fadnavis said Maharashtra has been opposing Karnataka's proposal.

"If need be, Maharashtra will move the Supreme Court and file a petition against the Karnataka government," he said here on the sidelines of a programme.

One of Maharashtra's objections is that increasing the height of the Almatti dam could cause flooding in the districts of Sangli and Kolhapur, which share borders with Karnataka.

The Karnataka government on Tuesday decided to provide compensation of Rs 40 lakh per acre for irrigated land and Rs 30 lakh per acre for dry land to farmers whose lands will be acquired for phase three of the Upper Krishna Project (UKP-3).

Phase three of the UKP-3 project involves raising the height of the Almatti dam from 519 to 524 metres, which will increase storage capacity by 100 tmc ft. This requires acquisition of 1.33 lakh acres of land, including 75,563 acres that will get submerged.

After Tuesday's Karnataka cabinet meeting, where the decision was made, Siddaramaiah urged the Union government to clear the decks for increasing the height of the Almatti dam by issuing a gazette notification.