RAICHUR: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday sought to allay the fears of farmers in the catchment area of the Tungabhadra Reservoir (TB dam) by promising to complete the installation of new crest gates on the dam by June 2026 and to start water supply during the monsoon season (Kharif season).
Siddaramaiah was speaking after inaugurating the Ambadevi Jatra Mahotsav and Jambu Savari at Amba Mutt in Sindhanur taluk of Raichur district. On the occasion, he also inaugurated and laid the foundation stones for multiple development projects worth Rs 400 crore, including three lift irrigation projects estimated to cost Rs 300 crore.
The CM said the government aims to irrigate a total area of 42 lakh hectares in the state, and projects covering 30 lakh hectares are currently in progress.
Siddaramaiah assured that the canal water problem faced by TLBC tail-end farmers would be resolved through the implementation of lift irrigation projects in Sindhanur taluk.
Siddaramaiah expressed dissatisfaction with the Central government for holding back a gazette notification for the implementation of the Upper Krishna Project works for the past 10 years.
The CM also said that following the implementation of the guarantee schemes, Karnataka has become the leading state in the country in terms of per capita income. “The state government has so far spent Rs 1,12,000 crore on five guarantee schemes,” he said.
Siddaramaiah said claims that the state government is facing fund shortage for development works are false. He also strongly condemned the Union government for changing the MGNREGA scheme to the VB-G RAM G Act and cutting the grant.
Ministers Satish Jarkiholi, Ramalinga Reddy, Dr Sharan Prakash Patil, Shivaraj Tangadagi, MP Rajashekhar Hitnal, MLAs Hampannagouda Badarli , R Basanagouda Turvihal and BM Nagaraj, MLCs Basanagouda Badarli and A Vasanth Kumar, NEKRTC President Arun Kumar MY Patil, DC Nitish K and several others were present.