BENGALURU/BAGALKOT/VIJAYAPURA: After coming under severe fire for not mentioning the Upper Krishna Project III in his budget, Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Friday resorted to some damage control and announced in the Legislative Assembly that Rs 10,000 crore will be earmarked for the project. He set a deadline of three years to complete the irrigation project.
Not just the opposition, even the chief minister’s own cabinet colleagues, including Deputy Chief Minister Govind Karjol, had taken exception to the state budget not mentioning the project, leave alone allocating funds for it.
“The Upper Krishna Project has been languishing for years. I assure the House that resources will be mobilised for the project,” Yediyurappa said, responding to the opposition’s questions on the state facing fund crunch. Yediyurappa said that he will take a delegation to New Delhi and meet Union ministers to bring more funds to the state.
“While there was no mention in the budget, the Chief Minister today says Rs 10,000 crore will be earmarked, but where are the resources for it,” asked Siddaramaiah, Leader of Opposition. Karjol, who was instrumental in getting the CM to allocate funds, pointed out that the Siddaramaiah government too failed to allocate funds for R&R. “When Jagadish Shettar was the chief minister, various components of the project worth Rs 17,207 crore were approved,” he said, adding that successive governments have failed to take up R&R activities.
Karjol said, “We are committed to complete the UKP work in the next three years by allocating timely funds. But it is not easy as land acquisition and R&R activities are herculean.”
“This announcement is not part of the budget. What is the guarantee that Rs 10,000 crore will even be raised for the works to begin? This is an eyewash by the chief minister after we raised the issue,” former water resources minister MB Patil told the New Indian Express.
On August 29 last year, Yediyurappa, offering prayers to Krishna River at Almatti Dam, had said, “I will honour my words and UKP is one of my dream projects. The Almatti Dam height should be increased to 524.256m from 519.6m, and I will allocate Rs 20,000 crore in every budget for the next three years so that UKP works will be complete within our (BJP’s) tenure.”
BJP MLA AS Patil Nadhalli said, “The UKP works started in 1964, but despite several parties being in power, the project has not been completed.”
According to a Karnataka government order dated October 9, 2017, the revised estimate of the Upper Krishna Project Stage-III stands at Rs 51,148.94 crore. It includes Narayanpur Right Bank Canal Extension, Indi Lift Canal Extension, Rampur Lift irrigation Scheme Extension, Mallabad Lift Irrigation Scheme, Bhima Flank, Mulwad Lift Irrigation Scheme, Chimmalagi Lift Irrigation Scheme, Koppal Lift Irrigation Scheme, Herkal Lift Irrigation Scheme, dam and allied works and rehabilitation and resettlement. The R&R for UKP Stage-III will be carried out under the Right to Fair Compensation & Transparency in LAQ, R&R Act, 2013.
What is UKP iii project?
UKP is one of the most-ambitious projects of the state government
The UKP third phase is aimed at providing water to a whopping 6 lakh hectares of agriculture land in Vijayapura, Bagalkot, Kalaburagi, Raichur and Yadgir districts
Under the project, as many as 22 villages including Old Bagalkot will submerge, 1.32 lakh hectares of land have to be acquired and over 80,000 families to be relocated
The project is estimated to cost Rs 51,000 crore. If the project is delayed by five years, the cost may go up to Rs 1 lakh crore