BELAGAVI: In a major development, Chief Minister Siddaramaiahhas taken an aggressive stand with regard to his government's decision to increase the height of Almatti dam from the present 519.60M to 524.256 M.
On June 9, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had urged Siddaramaiah in his letter to reconsider the state government's decision to increase the height of Almatti dam, claiming that the rise in dam height would result in floods in areas of Sangli and Kolhapur districts.
In his letter to his Maharashtra counterpart written on June 11, Siddaramaiah expressed his government's commitment to increase the dam height. He clarified his government's stand not only on the submergence issues but also on its right to raise Almatti dam height to FRL (Full Reservoir Level) 524.256 M even without waiting for the publication of the award by the Union government under Section 6(1) of the Inter State Water Dispute Act of 1956.
"Karnataka state planned the construction of Almatti dam up to FRL 524.256 M way back in 1969. The Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal (KWDT-I), headed by Justice R S Bachawat and subsequently the KWDT-II headed by Justice Brijesh Kumar constituted by the Central government under the Inter State River Water Disputes Act of 1956 did not impose any restrictions on the height of the Almatti dam,'' Siddaramaiah said in letter.
The KWDT II by its report and decision dated December 12, 2010 and modified decision dated November 29, 2013, permitted Karnataka to increase the height of Almatti dam up to 524.256 M after overruling the objections of both Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, the CM said.
He further said the KWDT-II after fuller consideration of the evidence of experts led by Karnataka (Prof Ranga Raju) and Maharashtra (S Y Shukla) states, and survey report on the sedimentation, nagatived in its report and decision dated December 30, 2010, the apprehensions concerning the static submergence, dynamic submergence during floods and future submergence in case of sedimentation in next 100 or more years.
The letter referred to the final conclusions of the KWDT-II which stated ``In the result, we find that the objection of Maharashtra to raising FRL of Almatti dam to 524.256 M is not sustained. The state of Karnataka cannot be denied raising of the FRL of Almatti dam to 524.256 M on the alleged ground of submergence of the territories of Maharashtra, nor any such question as to consent of Maharashtra in raising the FRL arises.
"I may also recall that the Vadnere Committee of technical experts appointed by the Maharashtra government has gone into the alleged flooding in 2019 and blamed it on encroachment, since these encroachments are narrowing the channels in Sangli and Kolhapur districts,'' the letter stated.
The CM stated that he found no reason at all for the Maharashtra government to think that storage in Almatti dam up to 524.256 M is likely to exacerbate the recurring flood situation in Sangli and Kolhapur districts, letter added.