BANGALORE: A delegation led by Deputy Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa and senior ministers on Tuesday appealed to Union Minister for Water Resources Saifuddin Soz to enable the State to go ahead with the Kalasa-Banduri Nala drinking water project.

Work on the project has commenced and the State wants the work not be suspended at any cost. The Government of Goa has filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking a stay on the project. Maharashtra, Karnataka and the Union Government have been named as respondents. While a delegation from Goa recently met the Union Minister for Water Resources and pleaded for the Centre's support to stay the project work, the delegation from Karnataka called on the Union Minister to impress on him that the State is well within its rights to go ahead with the project.

The State BJP has been fighting for long for the implementation of the project and launched an agitation in Hubli some time ago.

Revenue Minister Jagadish Shettar, Higher Education Minister D.H. Shankaramurthy, Industries Minister Katta Subramanya Naidu, State BJP president D.V. Sadananda Gowda, and party MPs Prahlad Joshi and Siddesh were part of the delegation.

Mr. Yediyurappa told The Hindu that the Centre was sympathetic to Karnataka's request since it was a drinking water project. It was also brought to the notice of the Centre that the Supreme Court, as made out in cases pertaining to Punjab, Haryana and Andhra Pradesh, had extended support to drinking water schemes. "Hence, Karnataka is keen that the Centre files its objections to the petition by Goa against the project. The stand of Karnataka before the Supreme Court is similar to that of the Centre before the apex court on the dispute relating to the Telugu ganga project and the Srisailam Left Bank canal project."

Work on the Kalasa-Banduri project started a month ago to provide 7.56 tmcft. of water to Hubli and Dharwad. Mr. Yediyurappa has released Rs. 100 crore for the speedy execution of the project. Of the estimated 200 tmcft of water in the Mahadayi, Karnataka has been allocated 45 tmcft of which 7.56 tmcft will be used from the Kalasa and Banduri.

Mr. Yediyurappa told the Union Minister that Karnataka was executing the project with its funds, and being non-plan expenditure, there was no need for the State to obtain prior permission of the Centre. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had promised the State that the Centre would not be a party to any dispute relating to drinking water projects.

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