The Hindu : Maharashtra releases water to Belgaum Dist.

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Mar 04, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Karnataka-Bangalore

Maharashtra releases water to Belgaum Dist.

By Our Special Correspondent

Bangalore March 3. Maharashtra has released 1.5 tmcft. of water from the Kalammawadi Dam to parts of Belgaum District which are facing severe shortage of drinking water.

The Congress member from Athani in Belgaum District, Shahajahan Dongargaon, stated this in the Legislative Assembly today. The member made the statement when the Leader of the Opposition, Jagadish Shettar, was speaking on the drought in the State and the protests by the people of Belgaum District over Government inaction in meeting their water needs.

At this, the Chief Minister, S.M.Krishna, asked Mr. Dongargaon to state the latest development which Mr. Shettar seemed to be unaware of. When Mr. Shettar demanded that it would be appropriate if the Chief Minister made the statement, the latter said that he would do so while replying to the discussion. Mr. Krishna said he let the member make the announcement as the legislators from Belgaum District worked hard to prevail upon the Maharashtra Government to release water.

Later Mr. Shettar criticised the Government for agreeing to release Bheema waters to Solapur in Maharashtra. The Government had not stated whether there was a formal request from the neighbouring State. The Chief Minister might have taken the decision on the request of his Maharashtra counterpart, Sushil Kumar Shinde, or at the behest of his party High Command. Though they would not oppose going to the aid of the people of Maharashtra, it should be noted that the Government had refused to provide Bheema waters from the Indi canal to 163 villages in Bijapur District.

The Opposition leader warned that the Krishna river waters issue was reaching a crisis point as in the case of Cauvery waters as Andhra Pradesh was attempting to secure a prescriptive right for itself over the water covered under Scheme `B' of the Bachawat Tribunal Award and which had remained unutilised by Karnataka and Maharashtra. It had demanded 50 tmcft. of water impounded in the Alamatti Dam on the ground that Karnataka was unable to utilise it in the absence of the canal system. In December last, the Minister for Water Resources, H.K.Patil, had said that the Chief Minister had agreed to release water from the Alamatti Dam to Andhra Pradesh in principle. In return, the neighbouring State would supply electricity. The Government, which had taken the Opposition parties into confidence over the Cauvery dispute, had not done so in the case of Krishna waters.

Shivanand Patil (BJP) suggested that Karnataka could agree to provide water from the Alamatti Dam to Andhra Pradesh provided the latter agreed to increasing the height of the dam to 524 metres (as against 519.6 metres fixed by the Supreme Court).

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Maharashtra releases water to Belgaum Dist.