Pending irrigation projects: CM ready to lead all-party delegation to Centre if need be

Bommai holds meeting of floor leaders and former irrigation Ministers on Mekedatu, UKP, Mahadayi, and river-linking projects

In a bid to convince the Centre about the need to clear Karnataka’s long-pending projects, including Mekedatu, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said he was ready to lead an all-party delegation to Delhi, if need be, to meet Central authorities.

Announcing this after a meeting of all-party floor leaders and former irrigation Ministers, Mr. Bommai said government would try to get clearances for the State’s projects when Karnataka Water Resources Minister Govind Karjol visits Delhi either on Monday or Tuesday.

The Chief Minister would also visit Delhi soon after the completion of the ongoing legislature session to meet Union Jal Shakti Minister and other central authorities. “If these efforts do not help, then we will take an all-party delegation to Delhi,” he said. Former Prime Minister H. D. Deve Gowda and MPs from the State would be part of the delegation, he indicated.

He said the meeting had decided to make all efforts to get permission for the long-pending irrigation projects of Karnataka by trying to resolve administrative, technical and legal hurdles for them.

With respect to Mekedatu, Mr. Bommai said the State Government would request the Central authorities to schedule a meeting of the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) at the earliest to take up discussion on the DPR. He said the CWMA had held discussions on the Mekedatu DPR several times and the matter was in the final stage of consultations. After the DPR is cleared, efforts would be made to get early environmental clearance, he said.

With respect to the UKP Phase-3 project, the State Government would again appeal to the Supreme Court to depute new judges to look into the issue in the wake of two judges of Karnataka origin recusing themselves from hearing the case. The all-party meeting has also said that measures should be taken to begin the works related to Mahadayi project at the earliest by obtaining environmental clearance. In addition, the all-party meeting also expressed concern over the State’s share still not being fixed with respect to interlinking of Godavari, Krishna, Cauvery and Pennar rivers. “Our stand is that we must give our consent to the project only after fixing the share of our State,” he said.

Karnataka’s legal counsel on irrigation issues Mohan Kataraki explained to the meeting that, to begin with, water allocation should be made for each of the river basins. Then allocation for different States will have to be fixed, Mr. Kataraki noted with respect to river-linking project.