BENGALURU: Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Friday appealed to Union Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil to grant clearances for the state's pending projects.
Shivakumar and Water Resources Minister Ramalinga Reddy met Patil in New Delhi and submitted a memorandum seeking approval for the state's pending projects, including Mekedatu balancing reservoir.
In the memorandum, the CM said, "Karnataka has the second largest dryland in the country after Rajasthan. The state government is committed to enhancing agricultural production, boosting farmers' income and ensuring a reliable supply of water for irrigation."
On the Mekedatu project, he said the apex court dismissed the miscellaneous applications of Tamil Nadu on November 13, 2025. It is for the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) and the Central Water Commission (CWC) to take a decision on allowing the Mekedatu project. The apex court recently dismissed the review petition of Tamil Nadu.
"As CWMA has asked CWC to appraise the project, we request the Union government to ensure expeditious clearance to it," Shivakumar said. The Union government is yet to notify the Krishna Water Dispute Tribunal-II (KWDT-II) award in the gazette though it was delivered over a decade ago.
Karnataka has invested huge sums of money in the Upper Krishna Project Stage-III. The state needs the Centre's support to proceed with the project and use its share of water, he said.
Shivakumar said the Union government announced Rs 5,300 crore assistance for the state in its budget for 2023-24. However, this assistance has not been released to the state so far.
The DoWR, RD & GR (Department of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation), Ministry of Jal Shakti, at its 160th meeting of the advisory committee on March 3 appraised the revised cost estimate proposal of the Upper Bhadra Project for Rs 21,167.93 crore. He said Kalasa and Banduri Nala projects were cleared by the CWC/Ministry of Jal Shakti in December 2022, but Forest/Wildlife clearance for them is yet to be given by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF & CC) though there is no legal impediment.