BENGALURU: To give a push to the Upper Krishna Project (UKP), the State Government on Tuesday decided to provide an additional allocation of Rs 2,500 crore for land acquisition and to shift all offices of Krishna Bhagya Jala Nigam Ltd (KBJNL) from Bengaluru to Almatti.
After reviewing the project with Water Resources Minister Govind Karjol and senior officers, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said they decided to provide Rs 2,500 crore this year for resettlement and rehabilitation of villagers.
Shifting all KBJNL offices to Almatti, filling up vacant posts, appointing additional staff to expedite the land acquisition process, shifting legal experts from Legal Cell at the head office in Bengaluru to UKP office in Bagalkot and appointing a special government advocate to handle land acquisition cases at Dharwad and Kalaburagi bench of Karnataka HC were some major decisions taken. To ensure that water from the UKP I and II stages reach tail-end farmers, the government will rework and modernise field irrigation channels, Bommai said.
Govt wants UKP declared nat’l project
The two stages were aimed at irrigating 6.22 lakh hectares, but tail-end farmers are yet to get water. After completing the third stage, another 5.94 lakh hectares will be irrigated. An official said the allocation of Rs 2,500 crore will give a big push to the project. In the budget, Rs 1,200 crore was allocated and of that, Rs 900 crore was the committed expenditure.
“Resettlement and rehabilitation (R&R) for the project involves the acquisition of land in 20 villages that will completely be submerged and taking over properties in another 188 villages, which will be affected partially. Rs 2,900 crore is needed for the entire process.
Now with the existing budget provision of Rs 500 crore and additional allocation of Rs 2,500 crore for R&R, the department will have required funds for R&R, which is the first priority,” the official said. In the legislative session, Water Resources Minister Govind Karjol had said the government is committed to completing the UKP project and significant progress will be made in the project during this government’s tenure.
While the government is making efforts to get it declared as a national project, land acquisition is a challenge as 1,33,867 acres need to be acquired for the project and the cost has increased significantly, he had said.