BENGALURU: While it is true that large areas of Kolar and Chintamani that used to be dry are unusually green this year, Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress are both claiming to be originators of the project.
What raised the hackles of the opposition Congress is the tweet from Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman, an RS member from Karnataka, that “the groundwater levels have significantly increased.
These efforts have created livelihood opportunities for nearly 2 million farmers & youth by reviving the rural economy. This effort is now being attempted in different ways by many other states of India.’’
She said, “In the 2nd stage Lifting/Pumping secondary treated water from the available source to various ridge points to fill additional 257 Tanks in the Kolar & Chintamani Taluks of the Kolar district under the ongoing K&C Valley Project.’’
Public Accounts Committee Chairman and Congress MLA Krishna Byre Gowda sharply reacted, saying, “No end to double games of BJP. Finance Minister is showcasing to the world Karnataka’s large scale waste treatment and reuse to fill lakes, as a great Indian achievement.’’
He said, “Some local BJP members and supporters who had vociferously objected to the project then have illegally laid out pipes from the tanks to their farms which is obviously illegal.’’ MLA Yathindra Siddaramaiah said, “BJP is taking false credit for works that the Congress government put in place.’’
Krishna Byre Gowda has been listing tanks from Bengaluru to Kolar and Chintamani passing through Devanahalli and Hoskote that have been filled, leading to the greening of surrounding areas. He said the visionary project was taken up during the then Siddaramaiah government where waste water from the Koramangala-Challaghatta Valley (KC Valley) was treated and pumped to fill water bodies in these extremely arid areas.
The KC Valley lift-irrigation project is being implemented by the State Government with technical assistance from the IISc to improve groundwater levels.