The National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) has deferred a decision on Karnataka’s application for the diversion of forest land for the construction of the Kalasa nala irrigation projects in the Mahadayi basin.
In a meeting held in New Delhi on January 30, the NBWL’s standing committee cited multiple reasons such as the matter pending before courts and non-receipt of approval from the National Tiger Conservation Authority as the reasons for the postponement of the decision. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the Chairman of the NBWL, Yogendra Yadav, Minister for Forests and Ecology, is the chairman of the standing committee. Mr. Yadav headed the January 30 meeting.
For use of forest land
The proposal was for the use of around 11 hectares of forest land situated on the tiger corridor between Kali and Sahyadri tiger reserves. This is supposed to be for the construction of a diversion weir, jack well-cum-pump house, electrical substation, pipeline and power line at Kanakumbi and other villages. This is part of the State government’s project for the construction of Kalasa Nala Diversion Scheme in Khanapur taluk of Belagavi district.
“The proposal has been recommended by the Chief Wildlife Warden, the Karnataka State Board for Wildlife and the State government. The NTCA has mentioned that the matter is sub judice and therefore not provided any comment on it as such. After discussions, the standing committee decided that the comments on the proposal shall be sought from the NTCA in accordance with the Wildlife Protection Act. Accordingly, the proposal was deferred for the next meeting,” as per the minutes of the meeting, informed a senior officer. The date of the next meeting is yet to be announced.
“The cases in question are the separate applications filed by the riparian States of Karnataka seeking higher allotment of water and Goa opposing the project on environmental grounds,” the officer in charge of the project said.
What farmers say
Vijay Kulkarni, founder president of the Kalasa Banduri Horata Samiti, said, “We have been fighting for over 30 years for this, saying it will change the fortune of farmers in dry land north-west Karnataka. But neither the Union government nor the State government is listening to our woes,” he said.
Sidagouda Modagi, Krishik Samaj leader, alleged that the Mahadayi issue is being politicised. “Leaders of all the parties have misused the project as an election plank to gain votes for their candidates and to portray the other parties as anti-farmer,” he said.
The total project involves diversion of water from Kalasa and Banduri nalas, tributary streams of the Mahadayi, into the Malaprabha, to supply drinking water to cities in the dry northern plains of Kalyan Karnataka. The major beneficiaries will be towns in Belagavi, Gadag, and Bagalkot districts, along with the twin cities of Hubballi and Dharwad.
The background
After decades of preparation and meetings and discussions, the Central Water Commission gave in-principle approval for the project in 2022. This followed the Mahadayi Inter-State River Water Dispute Tribunal allowing the riparian States to share the water, clearing the way for preparation of proposals in 2020.
The Karnataka government plans to file separate proposals for Kalasa and Banduri nala projects. The Kalasa nala project involves the diversion of around 27 hectares of land, including 11 hectares in a tiger corridor between Karnataka and Goa. The Kalasa project aims to build multiple barrages to store and lift water from the stream and divert it into the Malaprabha, at an estimated cost of around ₹420 crore. Goa has argued that this would reduce inflow into the Mahadayi, damaging its natural flow and internal and surrounding ecology.
