Award will help irrigate six lakh more hectares, says BS Yeddyurappa

Terming it a historical day, chief minister BS Yeddyurappa welcomed the second Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal (KWDT) award, and said the state would bring five to six lakh hectares of additional land under irrigation by utilising its share of water.

“The Krishna water tribunal has accepted the state government’s demand. It has permitted the state government to store water in the Almatti dam up to 524.26 metre level and it has dismissed apprehensions raised by Andhra Pradesh. Under schemes A and B, the tribunal has allotted 911 thousand million cubic feet (tmc ft) of water for Karnataka; it has also permitted the storage of 303 tmc ft under the Upper Krishna project,” said the chief minister.

The sharing of the Krishna waters has been under dispute between Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka for over 40 years. This verdict allows the state to raise the height of the Almatti dam in Bijapur from 519 metres to 524.26 metres.

The chief minister said that “everything is now ready” to raise the dam’s height.

The chief minister added that although the state’s demands were not fully met by the KWDT, there is reason for satisfaction. “After getting a detailed copy of the award, we will discuss the matter with constitutional experts and take an appropriate decision on the future course of action,” Yeddyurappa said.

“Under the B scheme, we had sought 278 tmc ft water. The tribunal has awarded 177 tmc ft. With this, we will bring more land under irrigation. As the state government has already announced, we will take up all the irrigation projects in the Krishna river basin,” the chief minister said, adding that the next budget of the state government would allocate more funds for irrigation projects in the Krishna basin.

“If necessary, we will raise loans to utilise Krishna waters to maximum potential. We will give the water to our North Karnataka farmers,” Yeddyurappa said.

The state BJP head, KS Eshwarappa, welcomed the award of the KWDT and said that the Centre ought to wind up the tribunal constituted to resolve the Kalasa-Banduri project, as Goa has been raising objections, and the drinking water problem has persisted.

State water resources minister Basavaraja Bommai, however, said, “We had demanded 278 tmc ft water from the tribunal under the B scheme, but we have only been awarded 177 tmc ft. We have lost almost 100 tmc ft. After getting a detailed copy of the  award, we will discuss the issue with experts and decide on the future course of action. We will continue our legal battle.”

Addressing the media at Hubli, Bommai said, “The tribunal has permitted the state to raise the Alamatti dam height; that will enable to state to provide irrigation for thousands of acres of additional land.”

                      h_srikanth@dnaindia.net