BENGALURU: Ahead of the presentation of the State Budget by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, former water resources secretary Capt Raja Rao, an authority on water resources, has listed out what needs to be done to develop Karnataka’s water resources effectively and how funds should be allocated. In a letter to the CM, he has highlighted priority areas for the government in the Krishna, Cauvery, Mahadayi, Godavari, Upper Bhadra basins, the Palar and Pennar sub-basins, the Yettinahole project and the interlinking of rivers.
He said in the Krishna basin, crores of rupees have been spent on building canals, but this will serve no purpose until the project takes off. “They have to notify it in the gazette and get final clearance from the Central Water Commission before they take the next step. They should earmark funds for land acquisition, recruit adequate staff, finalise a master plan for Krishna projects,’’ he said.
As regards the allocations for the Yettinahole project, there is no point in developing drinking water infrastructure up to Kolar and Chikkballapur until the Baragondanalalli reservoir is ready. He cautioned the government on the legal aspects of the Cauvery water dispute while referring to the need to develop the agro-economy of the river basin.
“There is no point in making budgetary allocations for lift irrigation schemes in the Cauvery basin for which water is not allocated by the CWDT,” he cautioned. He suggested that Neeravari Nigams should focus on utilising allocations for developing water resources and not for building non-essential infrastructure.