The Hindu : Plan to construct 100 barrages in State

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Apr 20, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Karnataka

Plan to construct 100 barrages in State

By Our Staff Correspondent

BELGAUM APRIL 19. The Minister for Water Resources, H.K. Patil, said that the Government was working on a plan to construct barrages across all potential water sources in different parts of the State for optimum utilisation of the resource. He added that 100 barrages would be constructed in the State.

Speaking to presspersons here on Friday, Mr. Patil, who inspected progress on the Markandeya Irrigation Project earlier in the day, said the rehabilitation centres in Waghwade and Santibastwad in Belgaum taluk being constructed for the families to be displaced by the project, would be ready by June.

The Government would allocate Rs. 6.30 crore for the rehabilitation works. A compensation of Rs.1.17 lakh and Rs.1.48 lakh would be given for each acre of land with single and two crop yields, respectively. For dry land, the affected farmers would be given a compensation of Rs.70,000 for each acre of land, he said. Mr. Patil said it was possible to store water in the dam to provide irrigation to the summer crop provided that the displaced were rehabilitated within the expected time.

Under the project, 40,000 acres of land would be irrigated by utilising four tmcft. of water from the Markandeya. Of the estimated Rs. 209 crore for the project, the Government had already spent Rs. 165 crore, including Rs. 115 crore on concrete works, he said.

Mr. Patil said that 500 km. of roads were laid under the first stage of the "Namma Hola Namma Raste" scheme in the Malaprabha and the Ghataprabha river basin at a cost of Rs. 10 crore. The Government planned to construct another 1,000 km. of roads under the scheme. Of the 600 societies planned under the Participatory Irrigation Management scheme, 459 were already formed. Permission to raise shares and to register water users' societies had been granted to 59 societies.

Mahadayi

The minister appealed to all those opposing the Mahadayi project to realise that not even one tmcft. of the 200 tmcft. of water available from the Mahadayi was being utilised either by Karnataka or Goa.

On the effects the project could have on the Mahadayi Valley, Mr.Patil said an institution like the NEERI had submitted a report denying any threat to the environment.

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