The Rs. 12,912-crore Yettinahole drinking water project will be ready for commissioning by 2019, said Water Resources Minister M.B. Patil.
Replying to members in the Legislative Council on Wednesday, the Minister said that the lift component of the project — that will be completed by December 2016 — will require Rs. 3,800 crore. While this will be met through the department’s funds, financial assistance for conveyance component will be taken from the Japan International Cooperation Agency, he said. Dismissing allegations that the government was making false promises to people of the parched districts of Chickballapur, Kolar and Tumkuru that drinking water through this project would be supplied in the next six months when not a single acre had been acquired so far, the Minister said, “Land acquisition had been delayed because although the government wanted to go by the 2013 Land Acquisition Act enacted by the UPA government, it could not adopt it last year as the NDA government brought an ordinance making some amendments.”
He said hurdles were now cleared and a Social Impact Assessment would be done, he said.
Mr. Patil said the State government was contemplating setting up a Madhya (Central) Karnataka Neeravari Nigama to facilitate implementation of drinking water projects such as Yettinahole in central Karnataka areas.
