Karnataka to Counter Andhra's Objections

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Saturday said he will meet the state Members of Parliament (MPs) in Delhi on March 17 to discuss objections raised by Andhra Pradesh for the Upper Krishna Project (UKP) and put pressure on the Centre.

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The Deputy Chief Minister added that the state government is going ahead with the project as per the Tribunal order and has already spent Rs 26,000 crore. Speaking to reporters, Shivakumar said, "Andhra Pradesh has written a letter to the Centre objecting to the land acquisition for the Upper Krishna Project. The Centre has written to us seeking our clarification. We are going on with the project as per the Tribunal order, and we have already spent Rs 26,000 crore."

Ministerial Delegation to Visit Delhi

He further added that Ministers HK Patil, MB Patil, Boseraju and he would be travelling to New Delhi on Tuesday to meet the MPs and put pressure on the government regarding the matter. "We are only preparing to make use of our quota of water as per the Tribunal order of 2010. Andhra Pradesh has raised an objection to this project. Besides this, Andhra Pradesh is also not cooperating with us for the balancing reservoir on Tungabhadra. We are losing 30 TMC of water due to silting. Ministers H K Patil, MB Patil, Boseraju and I will be travelling to Delhi on Tuesday to meet the MPs and put pressure on the government," he informed.

"Opposing this, Andhra Pradesh has submitted a request to the Central Government not to allow land acquisition. The Centre has asked them for the reasons and has sent a notice to us. This project is being carried out on our land," he added.

Meeting Details

The meeting will be scheduled for March 17 (Tuesday) at 6 pm at Karnataka Bhavan in the National Capital.

About the Upper Krishna Project

The Upper Krishna Project (UKP) is an irrigation project across the Krishna River to provide irrigation to the drought-prone areas of Bijapur, Bagalkot, Gulbarga, Yadgir and Raichur districts in the state of Karnataka in southern India. The project had been designed by the Government of Karnataka to irrigate 1536,000 acres of land (6,220 km²).

The foundation stone for the project was laid by the then Indian Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri on 22 May 1964. It was designed to irrigate 1536,000 acres of land in Gulbarga, Raichur, Bijapur, Bagalkot and now Yadgir. UKP intends to use the bulk of 173 thousand million cubic feet (tmcft) of water allocated to the state of Karnataka by the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal, headed by R. S. Bachawat, in May 1976. The initial estimation of the cost of the project was 120 crore. However, after many revisions, the final cost of the project reached upto 10,371.67 crore and it took 42 years for the project to be completed. 201 villages were affected by the project and 136 villages were completely submerged in the backwaters of the reservoirs constructed as a part of the project. (ANI)