Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has called for a meeting of people concerned with the Yettinahole water diversion project on December 26.
This announcement comes four days after an order of the National Green Tribunal for joint inspection by officials and petitioners to ascertain the number of trees felled for the project.
Announcing this during a function organised to mark the filling of five metres of water at the new Thumbe vented dam here on Tuesday, Minister for Forests, Environment and Ecology B. Ramanath Rai said that all those fighting against the project will be called for the meeting to be held in Chief Minister’s official residence Krishna in Bengaluru.
“CM gave an assurance yesterday. We hope to resolve all issues and problems,” he said.
Mr. Rai said during the meeting he will press for Paschima Vahini project that entails construction of series of check dams along the Netravathi, which, he said, would meet the drinking water requirements of the region. All legislators of the region will be taking part in the meeting, he said.
The meeting of the Chief Minister with the activists of the region has been long overdue.
Mr. Siddaramaiah had called for a meeting on October 19, 2015 and subsequently cancelled it.
There was a meeting with Karnataka Neervari Nigam Limited officials in September 2015 in Mangaluru where officials failed to answering questions posed by activists.
The Chief Minister then held a meeting with legislators from Dakshina Kannada, Kolar, Chikkaballapur, Tumakuru and Bengaluru. Recently he held a meeting with officials and urged them to expedite the Yettinahole project work.
The activists have questioned implementation of the project in the eco-sensitive Western Ghats before the Principal Bench of National Green Tribunal. Following submission by petitioner K.N. Somashekar that 50,000 trees were felled for the project, NGT Chairman Swatanter Kumar directed the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Regional Office, Bengaluru, to send a senior officer to the project area along with petitioners and submit a report by January 16.
