Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah on Friday criticised the Centre for its “unilateral” decision on inclusion of a proposal on linking ofGodavari-Krishna, Krishna-Pennar, and Pennar-Cauvery river projects in the Union Budget without discussing with State Governments and questioned the viability of projects.
The interlinking river projects would not benefit Karnataka, Mr Siddaramaiah said.
₹46,000 crore
The Union Budget for 2022-23 presented on Tuesday made a proposal on linking ofGodavari-Krishna, Krishna-Pennar, and Pennar-Cauvery. The project estimated to cost ₹46,000 crore.
Speaking at a press conference here, Mr. Siddaramaiah said the proposal was included in the Union Budget without providing information to States on water sharing benefits of the projects. The Centre has also not convened a meeting of Chief Ministers of southern States, he said, and condemned the Centre’s attitude towards imposing projects on States without prior discussions.
The river-linking project was discussed in the National Water Development Agency (NWDA) and it was expected to provide additional 347 tmcft of water. Though 70% of Karnataka’s region was rainfed, Tamil Nadu was expected to benefit more from the Pennar-Cauvery linking project. “According to me, Tamil Nadu will receive 90% of the surplus water,” the Congress leader claimed.
Mr. Siddaramaiah also recalled the Ganga-Cauvery linking project proposed by late Prime Minister Morarji Desai in 1978. Similarly, the late Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee proposed water-linking projects but no action was taken.
All-party meeting
Even after three days of the presentation of the Budget, none of the 25 BJP MPs from the State spoke about the river-linking project, he said, and demanded that the Government convene an all-party meeting to provide information pros and cons of the project.
On Tuesday, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai had said the State’s share in water should be properly decided in the new detailed project reports.
