Karjol seeks early approval of state irrigation projects

Water Resources Minister Govind Karjol on Thursday met Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and urged him to expedite the approval of the long pending drinking water and irrigation project including Mahadayi.

Karjol, along with Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi, met Singh and explained the projects which have stuck for a long period.

Karnataka has already submitted a revised Detail Project Report (DPR) with a requirement of 49.7 hectares of forest land for Mahadayi project against the earlier DPR, which required 500 hectares of forest land.

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Since the latest DPR required less forest land, the Centre should consider approving it at the earliest, the minister said.

Karjol also requested the union minister to expedite the pending proposal for the Upper Krishna Phase-3, Mekedatu project and Upper Bhadra project.

Emerging out of the meeting, Karjol said that he had raised the pending issues with the union minister, and that he had responded positively to the state's request.

Recently, the Congress had announced that it will hold massive rallies in North Karnataka, flagging pending issues, including the Mahadayi and Krishna projects, ahead of next year's elections.

With water being an emotional issue in the state, particularly inter-state river disputes, be it Kaveri or Krishna, the Congress is planning to make it an election issue.