Karnataka Government Urges Swift Action on Mekedatu Project Amid Tamil Nadu Opposition

Bengaluru, September 4 (Daily Kiran) : Karnataka’s Water Resources Minister N. Cheluvarayaswamy has instructed officials to accelerate all processes related to the Mekedatu project. This directive also includes the urgent identification of alternative land for compensation by the district administration. The project has faced opposition from Tamil Nadu, making this move particularly significant.

During a video conference held at Vikas Soudha with deputy commissioners from various districts, the minister reviewed the project’s progress. He emphasized the government’s commitment to laying the foundation stone as soon as possible.

Cheluvarayaswamy directed officials to identify alternative land to replace the forest area that will be submerged due to the project. He specified that the report should not include residential areas, focusing instead on “deemed forest land” and land under the revenue department.

The project is expected to inundate approximately 5,096 hectares of forest land, necessitating the provision of compensation land by the state government. The revenue department has already identified around 20,000 hectares of land, but it is crucial to prioritize the availability of about 5,000 hectares suitable for forest restoration.

As deemed forest land falls under the revenue department’s jurisdiction, officials discussed the possibility of identifying compensation land in a 1:2 ratio across Chamarajanagar, Mandya, and Bengaluru South districts.

In the meeting, the deputy commissioner of Mandya reported that preparations for providing 772 hectares of land from the district are already underway. The remaining requirements will need to be met with deemed forest land.

Districts including Chitradurga, Raichur, Davanagere, Bagalkot, Yadgir, Haveri, Gadag, Vijayanagar, Bengaluru Rural, and Chamarajanagar have already surveyed land in categories C and D and submitted reports on available land.

The deputy commissioner of Mandya has been appointed as the nodal officer for revenue department land. The minister also instructed the appointment of another senior officer to facilitate the processes related to forest land.

The state’s additional chief secretary is scheduled to visit Delhi on September 7. Discussions on September 8 are expected to clarify whether deemed forest land can be considered as compensatory land.