BELAGAVI: The state government should set aside 10 per cent of the GDP for two years to complete the Upper Krishna Project (UKP), which requires over Rs 60,000 crore, said Opposition Leaders in the Council SR Patil during the ongoing Legislature session on Tuesday.
“Around 1.33 lakh acres of land needs to be acquired and 20 villages, which will submerge, will have to be shifted. Beg, borrow or steal, but complete the project,” he said. Council members suggested that the government take up river, road, industrial and infrastructure projects and also look for employment generation in North Karnataka, as the House was discussing issues related to the development of the region.
Patil said that once UKP gets completed, another 130 tmcft of water can be stored in the Almatti reservoir which will feed an additional 15 lakh acres of agricultural land in seven districts, including Bagalkot, Vijayapur, Gadag, Kalaburagi and Raichur. “At 519.6 m height, the reservoir can store 173 tmcft of water.
Once the land acquisition process gets over and the reservoir height increases to 524.25 m, total storage will be 304 tmcft. In all, it will feed over 30 lakh acres of agricultural land,” he said. He demanded that the government take up the Mahadayi project. JDS MLC KT Srikantegowda said the project was envisaged by the SR Bommai commission in 1978.