Centre’s delay in approval stalling projects: DyCM
Deputy CM Shivakumar highlights delays in Central approvals for irrigation projects, urging political intervention to expedite the stalled plans.
Deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar on Tuesday told the assembly that delays in Central approval were holding up several major irrigation projects and canal networks planned across districts.
The Krishna Upper River Project Phase 3 had seen no notification from New Delhi since 2013, said Shivakumar, leaving the state unable to move ahead despite repeated attempts to secure clearances. He said the process was influenced by disputes among neighbouring states, noting that Maharashtra had obstructed Andhra Pradesh “for the second time.”
The Upper Krishna Project Phase 3 is the state’s long- pending irrigation expansion plan that seeks to increase the storage capacity of the Almatti reservoir and bring additional farmland under assured irrigation across the drought-prone districts of the state’s north.
During the question- answer session on Tuesday, in response to a query by BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, Shivakumar argued that political intervention at the national level could resolve the deadlock. “If they pressure their friends in Delhi to give permission for this project, they will immediately take out a loan and complete this project,” he said.
Shivakumar said he had taken up the matter multiple times with Union minister V Somanna as well as the Union jal shakti minister CR Patil. According to him, Patil told him that a scheduled meeting of states on the issue had been postponed “due to various reasons.”
He said he and chief minister Siddaramaiah had modified the earlier land compensation framework for the Krishna project, adjusting decisions made under the previous administration. “We are committed to completing this project,” he said, adding that the government had drawn up a funding model to push land acquisition rapidly. “We have made a plan to raise money and spend it wherever possible. We have decided to give ₹15 to 20 thousand crores per year and complete the land acquisition in the next three to four years. We have even started work in some places.”
Questions from other legislators highlighted similar obstacles elsewhere.
G T Patil sought action on the deteriorated canals of the Hidkal reservoir and the proliferation of illegal pump sets. Shivakumar said the state had finalised a ₹1,722 crore proposal for upgrading both the right and left bank canals of the Ghataprabha and had sent it to the Centre for approval. “If this is approved, the project will be undertaken with the Central government sharing 60% of the cost and the state government sharing 40%. You and your MPs need to put more pressure on the central government,” he said.
He said a new law targeting illegal pump sets had been enacted and officials were undergoing training on implementation. Unequal usage patterns, he suggested, remained a persistent problem: “For example, people in the Pandavapura area use more water. No water reaches the Malavalli area. If all the MLAs agree on this, let’s start a campaign.”
Appaji C S Nadagowda pressed for funding to complete the Nagarbetta Lift Irrigation Project. Shivakumar responded that the government aimed to dedicate the scheme to the public by March 2026. The project, approved in 2017 at a cost of ₹170 crore and designed to irrigate roughly 3,200 hectares, had been split into three packages but delayed because of local disputes and slow land acquisition. A separate team would now be assigned to accelerate the work, he said.
Shravanabelagola MLA C N Balakrishna raised concerns about the sluggish development of left bank distributaries of the Hemavati. Shivakumar said a ₹110 crore plan had been prepared, with funding already allocated to specific canals. Eight of the 14 distributaries in the constituency were under development, while six were pending. He added that he had no information on land acquisition related to the Hemavati reservoir in Channarayapatna.
