Upper Krishna Project Phase-III: Land Compensation Rates To Be Finalised Within A Week, Says CM

VIJAYAPURA: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday announced that a meeting will be convened within a week to finalise compensation rates for land acquisition in connection to the third phase of the Upper Krishna Project.

Speaking to reporters after performing Gangapooje and offering Bagina to the Krishna River at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Reservoir in Almatti, the Chief Minister appealed to farmers not to approach courts over compensation. “Litigation delays the execution of the project. I request farmers not to go to court on this matter,” he said.

Siddaramaiah said the third phase has already been cleared, but the official Gazette notification is awaited. “Once the notification is issued, both irrigation works and the dam height-raising process will move forward. We have met Union Ministers and the Prime Minister thrice on this issue, while Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has met them five times,” he said.

Outlining the scope of the project, the CM said the dam height will be raised from 519.6 metres to 524.25 metres, which would allow storage of 130 TMC of water. This will facilitate supply of 173 TMC of water to irrigate 6.6 lakh hectares of farmland, he explained.

Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, who also holds the Water Resources portfolio, reiterated the government’s commitment to raising the Almatti dam height from 518 metres to 524 metres. “The Chief Minister and legislators from the project area will soon meet to finalise compensation rates. To ensure single-stage acquisition without appeals, people’s representatives and community leaders must cooperate. Rehabilitation will be addressed separately. Instead of letting water flow into the sea, our goal is to channel it for farmers’ irrigation needs, and we are determined to achieve this in our tenure,” he said.

Shivakumar added that the state has been pressing the Centre on the matter. “If our efforts are seen, a notification can be issued any moment. Our rightful share must come to us. People of Kalaburagi, Yadgir, Vijayapura, and Bagalkot districts must extend cooperation. We have already consulted legislators across party lines and gathered their views,” he said.

He further noted that two meetings of riparian states had been convened on the issue. “We got information that on one occasion, Andhra Pradesh postponed the meeting; on another, Maharashtra did. Still, we are pursuing it,” he remarked.

On land acquisition, Shivakumar said several rounds of discussions have been held.

“During Basavaraj Bommai’s tenure, a compensation package was fixed, but many representatives argued it was inadequate and halted the process. Recently, a meeting of people’s representatives, ministers, and farmers from the Almatti region was held, and its decision has been placed before the Chief Minister,” he said.

“Nearly 20,000 farmers have approached the courts over compensation. Some lawyers are misleading farmers, but they must realise that such litigation will not help anyone,” the Deputy Chief Minister added.

Minister for Large and Medium Industries and Infrastructure Development and Vijayapura District In-charge Minister M.B. Patil, Excise Minister R.B. Timmapur, Minister for Sugar and Agricultural Marketing Shivanand Patil, elected representatives and officials from Vijayapura and Bagalkot districts, were present.