Govt committed to complete Rs 12K crore Yettinahole project: Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru: Ruling out any possibility of reviewing the ongoing Yettinahole drinking water project, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday declared that the state government was committed to complete the project.
Speaking at a meeting of elected representatives, environmentalists and experts from the coastal region comprising Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts, over the implementation of the drinking water project, Mr Siddarmaiah assured that every possible measure has been taken to address the drinking water needs of the coastal region.
“This meeting was convened to remove apprehensions or any other fear in the minds of people who are opposing the project as the state government is committed to complete the Rs 12,912 crore Yettinahole drinking water project, aimed at supplying drinking water to the scarcity ridden Kolar, Chikkaballapur, Tumakuru and other districts,” he explained.
Asserting that Yettinahole was purely a drinking water project, the Chief Minister declared that the state government was not diverting either Nethravathi or Kumaradhara rivers flowing westwards, as only a small portion of water would be drawn from Western Ghats without disturbing the eco-system.
“The ground water level in Kolar, Chikkaballapur, and Tumakuru, is precariously low and the 68 lakh population in the seven districts are facing an acute drinking water shortage," he explained.
Informing that the project was originally planned and executed by the previous BJP government, he observed that actually administrative approval, preparation of the Detailed Project Report and invitation of tenders took place during the tenure of the BJP government. "We are only taking it forward taking note of the plight of people of Kolar and other districts in the region," he said.
Water resources minister M.B. Patil informed that the first phase of Yettinahole project is being implementing without altering any of the stipulations mentioned in the tender specifications approved by the previous government. Clarifying on the expected yield of about 24 tmc of water from the streams in the Western Ghats, he claimed that reputed institutions like Central Water Commission and the National institute of Hydrology have confirmed the availability of water for the project.
“It is purely a drinking water project and not an irrigation project,” the minister said.
Dr Ramaprasad, a retired Professor from IISc, said the ecosystem in the region, will not be affected in any manner by diverting 24 tmc of water from Yettinahole streams. The shortfall of rain this year had caused a depletion of over 140 tmc of water and it has not caused any ecological damage in the Western Ghats region.
Reacting to the severe drinking water shortage in coastal districts, he said that it can be tackled by storing about 15 tmc of water by harnessing west flowing rivers in the Western Ghats.
Earlier speaking on the issue, BJP leader Nalin Kumar Kateel, former minister Kota Srinivas Poojary and former MLA Vijayakumar Shetty appealed to the CM to suspend the execution of Yettinahole project till issues relating to the environment are resolved.
