The ‘lethargy’ of successive governments to complete dam projects in a time-bound manner to utilise the Cauvery water awarded by the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal decades ago has turned out to be a gain for Karnataka.
The tribunal had awarded 30 tmcft water to the State from the three river basins of Kabani in Wayanad (21 tmcft), Bhavani at Attappady in Palakkad (6 tmcft), and Pambar in Idukki (3 tmcft).
The government had constituted a Cauvery Circle in the Water Resources department in 2009 to investigate and coordinate irrigation projects to be implemented in the river basins to utilise the water.
The plan was to have Karapuzha, Banasurasagar, Noolpuzha, Manchat, Thirunelly, Thondar, Peringothupuzha, Kallampathy, Kadamanthodu, Ckekad, and Chundalipuzha projects in the Kabani river basin. The circle collected basic data of a few projects before it was wound up in 2011 for constituting the Kuttanad circle.
The proposals for two dams in Wayanad across the Chundali and Kadamanthodu rivers had to be frozen owing to public protest. The proposals for other projects in the State also came to an end after the Cauvery Circle was wound up.
The Banasura Sagar dam at Padinharethara was built to support the Kakkayam hydroelectric power project and satisfy the demand for irrigation and drinking water in the area. The reservoir was commissioned in 2005. Though the reservoir in the Kabani river basin also aimed at providing 1.7 tmcft of the 6.7 tmcft of water for irrigation, the target is yet to be achieved even after around ₹70 crore was spent on the project.
If the project had materialised on time, close to 2,500 hectares in five grama panchayats could have come under irrigation. The delay in land acquisition owing to the lack of coordination between departments has been cited for the delay.
The Karapuzha irrigation project is the first such project planned with a view to utilising 2.8 tmcft of water of the 21 tmcft awarded to the State by the Cauvery tribunal under the Kabani river basin.
Though more than ₹350 crore has been spent on the project over three decades, its commissioning remains a distant dream, thanks to the lack of coordination between officials of departments.
The Kabini dam, on the Karnataka side, is a good example of how State-led efforts can help harness water for irrigation purposes. The dam, built across the Kabini river at Beechanahalli in Heggadadevan Kote taluk in Mysuru district in 1968, has collected 18.04 tmcft water, mainly from the rivers in the Kabani river basin, till August 6 this year as against 15.47 tmcft during the corresponding period last year.
