Upper Krishna Project: Karnataka govt. committed to increasing Almatti dam height and land acquisition will be completed in single phase, says Chief Minister

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said that the government was committed to increasing the height of the Almatti dam from the present 519.6 metres to 524.26 metres to help complete the third phase of the Upper Krishna Project (UKP).

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said that the government was committed to increasing the height of the Almatti dam from the present 519.6 metres to 524.26 metres to help complete the third phase of the Upper Krishna Project (UKP).

Participating in a meeting of farmers, farm leaders, and elected representatives from the Krishna basin districts in Belagavi, the Chief Minister said the project will be completed in a phased manner.

He said there was a need to acquire 1,33,867 acres of land for the project, including land that would be submerged and land for rehabilitation and building canals. Of this, only 28,967 acres had been acquired so far.

Pointing out that the erstwhile government decided in 2022 to acquire the required land in two phases, the Chief Minister said now his government had decided to give priority to land acquisition and also complete the process in one phase.

The government was committed to providing justifiable price for the land losers considering various factors like market value, guidance value and norms related to land acquisition, he said.

Stating that there were 20,000 cases related to land acquisition that were pending before courts, he stressed the need for resolving the disputes through a consensus.