Hubballi: Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai announced on Sunday March 6 that after the budget session ends, he will travel to New Delhi to meet Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and seek final clearances for the project connecting the Kalasa-Banduri streams to the Malaprabha river.
Speaking to the mediapersons he said that two rounds of talks have already happened to get a green light for the Detailed Project Report (DPR), with only the Ministry of Forests and Environment’s approval needed.
CM expressed hope of getting the nod and starting the work at the earliest.
In response to the Goa government’s objection, the CM stated that the tribunal had already allocated the water share to the states concerned and that the matter is now before the court.
“There would be no legal issues because the existing DPR and MoEF clearances were within the State’s water share allocation,” he said.
As the Central authorities have been asked to approve the Mekedatu Balancing Reservoir project, he would convene an all-party meeting during the current budget session, and a delegation will travel to New Delhi at a suitable time to discuss additional water resources projects, he said.
CM Bommai reacted to the Congress leader’s claims that their padayatra had pressured the government to include funding for the Mekedatu project in the Budget released on Friday, saying it was a decades-old budget and the DPR had been revised in 2012, but no concrete measures had been taken. He further stated that an extensive DPR is currently being prepared.
The Cauvery Water Management Board has already conducted three sessions to consider the issue, with a fourth meeting, most likely the last one, scheduled very soon. The budgetary allocation was made since the government is sure of receiving the Board’s approval and clearance from the Ministry of Finance, he said.
