Date:11/02/2005 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2005/02/11/stories/2005021106230300.htm

Karnataka - Bijapur

Restoration of water allocation an uphill task

By Suresh Bhat

BIJAPUR, FEB. 10. Bowing to pressure from the protesters, the State Government has decided to restore the original allocation of water to some of the lift irrigation schemes in Bijapur and Bagalkot districts. There was jubilation among the people as news of the Government's decision became public.

According to the Bijapur MP, Basanagouda R. Patil Yatnal, who led the talks with the Government in Bangalore on Wednesday, the Mulwad, Chimmalagi and Herkal lift irrigation schemes will get their original allocation, which will help increase the irrigation potential in the region by 3 lakh acres.

Reduced

According to the original master plan for Scheme B of the Bachawat Tribunal Award, the Mulwad and Chimmalagi schemes (in Bijapur) and the Herkal scheme (in Bagalkot) had been allocated 56.1 tmcft, 25.13 tmcft, and 10.3 tmcft, respectively. However, in the revised plan of 2002, the Government reduced their allocation to 36.514 tmcft, 20.789 tmcft, and 3.664 tmcft, respectively.

The Government has now promised to restore the original allocation. However, the leaders who opposed the agitation are sceptical about the realisation of this promise. Their contention is that the allocation relates to Scheme B of the Bachawat Tribunal Award. The scheme deals with the quantum of surplus water in the Krishna that is to be determined and distributed among the riparian States by the new tribunal. Moreover, they feel that the State's unutilised share of water in Scheme A (around 135 tmcft) is likely to be the point of reference of the new tribunal.

Political implications

However, according to G.B. Mantur, retired Superintending Engineer of the Irrigation Department, the share that the State will get is irrelevant, but the quantum that the State Government fixes for different projects is. Since the quota of water for these schemes is known, the survey for the project can be taken up and the project estimate and other details can be worked out accordingly, he said.

The question of how the State Government will keep its promise is debatable as it has a large bearing on the political front. The restoration of original allocation to these three projects means a reduction in the allocation of 31 tmcft to other projects.

Distributed

Based on the latest gauging exercise of the surplus water in the Krishna river basin, it has been calculated that the State will get 278.74 tmcft. The Government has revised the master plan distributing the available water among the various schemes in the Upper Krishna Project and other sub-basins.

According to the original master plan, the Upper Krishna Project has only seven projects with an allocation of 129 tmcft. But four more schemes have now been added to it with even though the allocation was reduced to 121.4 tmcft. While 8.054 tmcft has been earmarked for schemes benefiting Jewargi taluk, only 11.565 tmcft has been given to Koppal district.

Risk of opposition

It is not an easy task to revise the entire plan as a survey and preparatory works are in progress for some projects, including the Mallabad Lift Irrigation Scheme in Jewargi taluk and the Singtalur scheme. The decrease of allocation to a particular project also runs the risk of attracting opposition from the beneficiaries concerned.

The Government, according to sources, is unlikely to revise the allocation of a particular project. Instead it may adjust the shortfall in the quantum of water reserved for future use.