Bengaluru: As per the order of Supreme Court, the Bangalore Water Supplies and Sewage Board gets 6 tmc feet of water to the existing 18 tmc feet of water to meet the drinking water requirements of Bengaluru City and its surrounding areas and a Government Order (GO) has been issued on November 7 to utilize 24 tmc feet of water, said Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar.
He told reporters in New Delhi that the Supreme Court had ordered in 2018 to make use of 24 tmc feet of water to Bengaluru City and no steps were initiated to make use of the additional allocation of water for Bengaluru City, so far and now a GO has been issued. The Supreme Court in its order on February 2, 2018 had allocated 33 tmc feet of water for drinking water needs of people in River Cauvery basin including Bengaluru City.
To a query on allocation of 24 tmc feet of water to Bengaluru city which could draw objection from Tamil Nadu, Shivakumar said, drinking water is the priority and the order of the Supreme Court has been followed now.
On Bengaluru city, he said, Bengaluru City has been growing rapidly in particular Bengaluru North region and considering the growth of Bengaluru City, a long term project keeping in mind the coming 20 years has to be prepared to supply water to Anekal, Harohalli and parts of Bengaluru North region.
The DyCM said an appeal would be made to Supreme Court and also the Cauvery Water Management Authority to embark upon proposed Mekedatu project across River Cauvery in Ramnagar and the water stored in Mekedatu a balancing reservoir would come to the rescue in times of distress to release water to Tamil Nadu.
The Mekedatu balancing reservoir, he said, would be of more help to Tamil Nadu and a presentation would be made to the Cauvery Water Management Authority on availability of water and release of water in River Cauvery basin and also its utilization.
Continuing on the Mekedatu project, he said, The Cauvery Water Management Authority has said to hold a meeting on the proposed Mekedatu balancing reservoir next week and officials concerned are getting ready to make their presentation.
