DCM D K Shivakumar Calls on Union Finance Minister and Seeks Funds for State’s Projects

New Delhi: Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Wednesday called on Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and sought financial assistance for various projects including tunnel project in Bengaluru and Mekedatu project.

He met the Finance Minister at the Parliament House and submitted a letter seeking financial assistance for several key projects of the State including tunnel project in Bengaluru, extension of metro network in Bengaluru, Upper Bhadra project, Upper Krishna project and Mekedatu project.

Funds for Bengaluru projects

The letter to Sitharaman sought financial assistance for three projects in Bengaluru city.

Tunnel project

Bengaluru city is facing severe traffic congestion and hence a 60-km tunnel project is being planned to ease traffic flow in the North-South corridor and East-West Corridor. At Rs 500 crore per km, the total cost of the tunnel project is estimated to be Rs 30,000 crore. The letter sought allocation of Central funds for the State and the NHAI in the next budget as the tunnel project connects National Highways 7 and 4.

Metro extension and Flood Mitigation

The letter also sought Sitharaman’s help in getting the approval of the Union government for the extension of Namma metro in Bengaluru as per the extension plan being prepared by BMRCL. Further, the letter also sought Finance Ministry’s approval and assistance for a proposal the State government has submitted to the World Bank seeking financial assistance of Rs 3,000 crore to develop flood mitigation infrastructure in Bengaluru city.

Mekedatu

The letter sought her intervention in obtaining approval of the Union Water Resources Ministry for the Detailed Project Report on Mekedatu project. Mekedatu project envisages building a 67 TMC dam across River Cauvery with the objective of having a buffer stock, produce electricity and provide drinking water to Bengaluru city. The Feasibility Report of the Project has received approval from the Central Water Commission. The Detailed Project Report was submitted in 2019 but it is yet to get approval from the Union Water Resources Ministry.

Upper Krishna Project

The letter sought intervention in getting a Gazette notification for the third phase of Upper Krishna project. Upper Krishna project is the lifeline of North Karnataka. The Krishna Water Tribunal 2 had passed an order in 2010 allowing Karnataka to use 173 TMC from the Krishna basin. The third phase of the Upper Krishna project provides for usage of 130 TMC of water. This project is estimated to irrigate 5.94 lakh hectares in Vijayapura, Bagalakote, Kalaburgi, Raichur, Yadagir and Koppala districts.

Though the Rs 16,900-crore project was cleared by the Krishna Water Tribunal a decade ago, however it is yet to be notified in the Gazette. The people of North Karnataka are suffering due to this inordinate delay, stated the letter while seeking the Centre’s intervention in this matter.

Upper Bhadra project

The letter sought immediate release of Rs 5,300 crore of Central funds for the Upper Bhadra project as announced in the previous Union Budget. The Union government had declared Upper Bhadra project as national project and allocated Rs 5,300 crore in the 2023-24 budget. The letter stated that the process of declaring the project a national project is delayed and the funds are yet to be released, thus hampering progress of the project. The project is estimated to irrigate 2.25 lakh hectares in Chikmagalur, Chitradurga, Tumkur and Davanagere district.

Mahadayi Project

The letter urged Sitharaman to help get environmental clearance from the Centre for the Kalasa Bhanduri project. The Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal had, in its 2018 order, allocated 1.72 TMC for Kalasa and 2.18 TMC for Bhanduri drinking water projects. The Detailed Project Report was accepted by the Central Water Commission but the Environmental Clearance is pending.

Yettinahole project

The letter also sought Central funds to the tune of Rs 9,177.32 crore for the Yettinahole project. The total cost of the project is Rs 23,251 crore, of which the State government has already spent Rs 14,698 crore and Rs 9,177.32 crore is needed to complete the project. The project is meant to meet drinking water needs of Kolar, Chikkaballapura and Tumakuru districts.