HUBBALLI: Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Sunday said that he will head to New Delhi after the ongoing budget session concludes, to meet Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and get final clearances for the project linking the Kalasa-Banduri streams to the Malaprabha river.
Speaking to reporters, Bommai said two rounds of talks have already been held over getting a green signal for the detailed project report (DPR), and only clearance from the Ministry of Forests and Environment is pending. Since it is in the final stages, he expressed hope of getting the nod and starting the work at the earliest. Regarding the objection being raised by the Goa government, the CM said the tribunal has already allocated the water share to the states concerned and now the issue is before the court.
Since the existing DPR and MoEF clearance were within the water share allocated to the State, there would be no legal hassles, he said, exuding confidence.
As the Central agencies have been requested to give clearance for the Mekedatu Balancing Reservoir project, he will be holding an all-party meeting during the ongoing budget session and a delegation will head to New Delhi at a suitable date to discuss other water resources projects, he said.
Reacting sharply to the claims of Congress leaders that their padayatra had pressured the government to allocate funds for the Mekedatu project in the Budget presented on Friday, Bommai said it was a decades-old budget and the DPR was revised in 2012, but no concrete measures were taken. An extensive DPR is ready now, he added. Already, three meetings of the Cauvery Water Management Board have discussed the matter and another meeting, most likely the final one, will be held soon. Since the government is confident of getting the Board’s nod and clearance from MoEF, the budgetary allocation has been made, he noted.
On requesting the Union Government to announce the Upper Krishna Stage 3 project a national project, the CM said officers have been asked to study the guidelines and prepare a technical report. Once it is ready, it will be sent to the Centre, he said.