The controversial Yettinahole Integrated Drinking Water Project — which proposes to lift water from Yettinahole, a west-flowing stream, towards six drought-prone districts of south Karnataka — saw elected representatives of the Opposition BJP, environmentalists, and technical experts of coastal Karnataka locking horns with the government that is keen to go ahead with the plan.
With no resolution reached and the meeting on Monday resulting in stalemate, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said there would be another round of technical consultation on the issue. He, however, announced that there was no question of going back on the project. The meeting saw both the BJP and the Congress accusing each other of using the project for “political gains”.
Over 40 members of the Netravathi Rakshana Samyukta Samiti, including elected representatives and environmentalists, walked out of the meeting registering their protest against the government’s stand. But Ministers from coastal Karnataka and a few Congress MLAs supported the government.
Accusing the government of implementing “the most unscientific project”, Nalin Kumar Kateel, MP for Dakshina Kannada, alleged that the government was “cheating” people of both coastal Karnataka and drought-prone south Karnataka, who are meant to benefit from the project. He argued that water yield was not enough to do any good to the drought-prone areas, while the project would be an ecological disaster to the coast. Mr. Kateel announced the launch of a “people’s movement” opposing the project.
However, Minister for Water Resources M.B. Patil said that attempts had been made to alley fears about the project by providing facts and figures. He said several reputed agencies, including ISRO, had gauged the availability of water and it was scientific. “Even the National Green Tribunal has only ordered for re-survey of the number of trees that need to be cut and not asked that the project be stopped,” he said.
Mr. Siddaramaiah said 24 tmcft could be made available for the project from July to October as shown by studies conducted by experts.
Work progress so far
Work on seven of the eight weirs (barriers across a river designed to alter the flow characteristics) and eight of the nine pump-houses is fast progressing. Pipes are ready for laying on 129.8 km rising main, and fabrication of pipeline required for 75 km has been completed. Pipes have been laid for a stretch of 23 km, according to M.B. Patil, Minister of Water Resources.
Tale of two CMs
Interestingly, it was Union Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda, as the BJP Chief Minister in 2012, who gave administrative sanction to the project. While most BJP representatives from the region are opposed to the project, Mr. Gowda, last year, even said that Yettinahole project would not cause harm to coastal Karnataka.
Another former Congress Chief Minister Veerappa Moily, who hails from Dakshina Kannada but represents Chickballapur Lok Sabha constituency, laid the foundation stone along with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for the project in 2014 in Chickballapur. Mr. Gowda even dubbed the controversy over the project as “local fight” between Mr. Janardhana Poojary and Mr. Moily.
