Jal Shakti Ministry gives nod to grant national project status to Upper Bhadra Project

Earlier, the state govt had requested the Centre to grant national project status so that it gets central government funding

A step closer to declare the Upper Bhadra project as a national project, an investment committee in the Union Jal Shakti Ministry on Thursday gave its nod to grant a national project tag with an estimated investment of Rs 16,125 crore.

The next step would be, the proposal would will go to Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for final approval to grant national project status, said an official in the Ministry of Jal Shakti.

Earlier, Central Water Commission under the Jal Shakti Ministry had approved the granting of national project status to the Upper Bhadra project.

Once it gets the national project tag, the Centre is expected to provide about Rs 16,125 crore fund for implement various irrigation programme to irrigate around 2.25 lakh hectares in Davangere, Chitradurga, Tumakuru and Chikkamagaluru districts.

Earlier, the state government had requested the Centre to grant national project status to the Upper Bhadra project so that it gets central government funding and execute the project at the earliest.

The two-decade-old project, now estimated to cost Rs 22,000 crore, will be the first from the state to receive the national project tag.

As per the central government guidelines, only projects covering over 2 lakh hectares under drip irrigation qualify to receive funding from the Centre if they receive national project status. Since the proposal sent by Karnataka Government meets all criteria, the Jal Shakti Ministry agreed to grant national project status to it, said the official.

Designed in 2000, the Upper Bhadra project received administrative approval in 2003 with the cost of Rs 2,813 crore. However, the delay in getting forest clearances and land acquisition led to huge cost escalation.