Karnataka claims Upper Bhadra is a national project; Central government to yet make official announcement

Bommai says it is a ‘national project’

Thanking the Union government for allocating the funds, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said: “The Upper Bhadra Project has a status of ‘national project’ today, and without any conditions, ₹5,300 crore has been allocated for it in the budget by the Modi government.”

He added: “It is understood that if the Union government has given financial clearance, its status stands as a ‘national project’ today. This is the first national project of Karnataka.”

It is not the first time the Karnataka government has made such a claim.

Meanwhile, the Union government is yet to officially declare it a national project even after it obtained all the necessary clearances.

Ever since a high-level committee by the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti cleared Karnataka’s proposal on declaring the Upper Bhadra as a national project in February 2020, leaders from then-chief minister BS Yediyurappa to the Bommai now and their Cabinet ministers have been giving assurances that the Centre would soon declare it a national project. However, no official announcement or notification has come on the matter.

In 2022, the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had given financial approval for this mega irrigation-cum-drinking water project, according to the office of Karnataka’s Major and Medium Irrigation Minister Govind Karjol.

After a year, the Union government allocated ₹5,300 crore for the project in its budget in poll-bound Karnataka.

It may also be noted that the union government had shortlisted the Ministry of Jal Shakti’s proposal on declaring Upper Bhadra as a national project for its Cabinet meeting recently.

Surprisingly, this proposal was apparently neither tabled nor discussed in the meeting.

The Upper Bhadra Project

The Upper Bhadra Project is aimed at bringing water to 2.26 lakh hectares by micro-irrigation in the drought-prone districts of Chikkamagaluru, Chitradurga, Tumakuru, and Davangere.

In the first stage of the project, 17.40 tmcft of water is expected to be lifted from the river Tunga to the Bhadra reservoir as part of the lift irrigation scheme.

The second stage would apparently see the lifting of 29.9 tmcft of water from the Bhadra reservoir to the tunnel near Ajjampura, in the Tungabhadra sub-basin.

The total estimated project cost stands at ₹21,471 crore. The Union government is expected to contribute ₹9,675.29 crore of the total estimated expenditure.

Also read: Karnataka economists laud budget; politicians disagree

BJP initiated the Upper Bhadra Project

Claiming that the UBP was a BJP government-initiated project in 2008, Bommai said: “The plan for the project has been in place since the 1960s, when Nijalingappa was the chief minister, but no specific action was taken in this regard.”

He added: “The Central government brought changes to the Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme (ABP) in order to clear all the hurdles and allocate the funds for the irrigation projects.”

Bommai also said: “We will take all the required measures to complete the project at a fast pace. The state has already spent ₹13,000 crore for the project, and this ₹5,300 crore will help, along with the ₹300 crore sanctioned for administrative expenses and for last-mile work — like field channels and Command Area Development Authority (CADA) work.”

On the criticism that the Union government fund allocation for the project was a poll gimmick, Bommai said: “The Opposition has to understand the basic fundamentals of the budget. The fund allocation process will start only from April 2023.”

He added: “The Union government always presents the budget for the upcoming fiscal year and not for the ongoing financial year. In the meantime, the government will work on a war footing to get the other required administrative and financial clearances for the project. The BJP is committed to implementing the project.”

Bommai praises other aspects of budget

Bommai also said: “Karnataka will get its share in all the projects announced in the budget. Certain projects need to be implemented jointly by the state and the Centre, for which the state government has to release the matching fund.”

He added: “Urban infrastructure has been given a boost in the Union budget, which would help strengthen the state’s urban infrastructure. The skill development for youth was one of our concerns; the budget has given priority to it, so it will benefit the state.

The chief minister also said: “Allocations have been increased for railways, which will also benefit the state. Our government has to give matching grants for it and we will focus towards it in the state budget.”

He added: “The Union budget almost fulfils the state government’s expectations in key priority sectors like rural development, agriculture, infrastructure, housing, irrigation, and MSMEs.”

He added: “Allocations have been increased in the existing projects. We had a demand to increase the scale of agriculture financing; they increased it, so it will benefit the state. Also, we had asked for priority to be given to rural infrastructure. This has been done through Jal Jeevan Mission and PM Awas Yojna.”