BENGALURU: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Tuesday said the State Government will prepare a new DPR (Detailed Project Report) on the Mekedatu balancing reservior project and submit it to the Centre.
Speaking to media persons after holding a meeting with senior officers, the DyCM said they discussed the measures to be taken by the state government to implement the project. They have to submit the DPR again with all the details about the project, including the extent of land, including the forest that would be submerged.
Shivakumar, who also holds the water resources portfolio, said the State government would submit a new report after addressing the shortcomings in the earlier report. He said that the government has opened the Mekedatu office in Harobele, and a separate office consisting of Chief Engineer and CCF has come up in Ramanagar.
Congress padayatra delayed it, says Basavaraj Bommai
Haveri MP and former CM Basavaraj Bommai said the state government should not bring politics into the Mekedatu balancing reservoir project and work closely with the Centre to get all approvals.
The Haveri MP appealed to the Centre to get the Detailed Project Report (DPR) approved so that the state can go ahead with the project.
Speaking to media persons in Bengaluru, Bommai accused the Congress of having done politics of padayatra over Mekedatu, which was the reason Tamil Nadu went to court with a miscellaneous application.
“Had the Congress not undertaken the padayatra, the project would have reached an advanced stage by now. Because of their padayatra, Tamil Nadu filed a miscellaneous case,” he said.“We knew that it (Tamil Nadu’s application) was going to be thrown out. Now that has been done, the state government has to take it up with the Centre,” he said.
It will be a win-win situation for both the states, but Tamil Nadu is involved in politics in it, the BJP leader said. Bommai said the Mekedatu project started in 1996 as a power project, and when he was the Irrigation Minister in 2012, they prepared a revised DPR as it had come to light that many areas, including forest, would be submerged.
He said the state must complete every stage very intelligently, as with the ongoing developments, if there is any deviation, Tamil Nadu will again approach the court. He said if the state government obtains approvals from the Centre with trust and harmony, it will be beneficial in the legal battle, as bringing politics into it will harm the interests of Karnataka.
Maize procurement
Bommai said the Centre has fixed MSP at Rs 2,400 and the state government should purchase maize at a higher price. Officials say they will send a report to the Centre, but that is unnecessary. If the state purchases the crop, the Centre will not reject it.
There are many past examples where the state procured the crop first and then sent a report to the Centre, the former chief minister said.