Yettinahole:?Flowing into an ecological disaster?

Bangalore: Ecologists fighting to stall the controversial Yettinahole drinking water project — which they allege is driven by the timber mafia and contractor lobby — are questioning the NOC given for it by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) on March 28 last year.

Warning that the Rs 8,200 crore project, which promises supply of water to the dry districts of Tumkur, Kolar, Chikkaballapur, Bangalore Rural and Ramangara, will cause permanent damage to the Western Ghats, they say the ministry has been misled by the Karnataka Neeravari Nigam Limited into believing that it does not attract the provisions of the EIA Notification, 2006.

“The recommendation of the Nigam and the MoEF decision are both incorrect,” says Kishore Kumar of Malanada Janapara Horata Samiti, arguing that as the project falls under Category A and has serious ecological and social implications, it needs to be studied by the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) of the MoEF. “The project aims to supply water to 337 minor irrigation tanks and Zilla Parishad tanks in Kolar and Chikkaballapur.

The command areas of these 337 minor irrigation tanks, as mentioned in the project report is 29,182 hectares much more than a command area of 10,000 hectares, placing it under Category A and under the purview of the EIA Notification 2006.

It must therefore be considered for environmental clearance by the Expert Appraisal Committee of the MoEF,” he maintains, adding that the capacity of the project to generate 125 to 150 MW of power through gravity canals, also qualifies it for such in-depth scrutiny.

“Most of the project falls in the Ecologically Sensitive Zone I defined by  WGEEP, where large infrastructure projects are banned. WGEEP also bans inter-basin transfer of water. So the MoEF will have to consider its report while making its recommendations,” he insists, warning that unless the ministry changes its mind on the project not only will the flora and fauna of the ghats be affected, but also the people living  downstream of the Netravathi and its several tributaries.

Next: ‘Why should the Western Ghats pay for authorities’ misdeeds?’

‘Why should the Western Ghats pay for authorities’ misdeeds?’

Kolar once boasted of  4,500 water bodies, but their mismanagement and encroachments in the valley zones destroyed its water sources and today the district is looking with other dry regions like Tumkur and Chitradurga to the diversion of water from the Yettinahole river to meet its needs.

“But why should the Western Ghats pay for the misdeeds of the authorities in Bangalore and its surroundings of Kolar and Tumkur?” ask ecologists, stressing that its high time  the government learnt from its mistakes.

“The Telugu Ganga project which aimed at providing drinking water to  Nallur in Andhra Pradesh and Chennai in Tamil Nadu miserably  failed. It was nothing but a political gimmick. Today the people of Chennai do not have sufficient water and the agricultural yield in Nallur has badly dwindled. Any drinking water project which involves diversions of rivers, tributaries and even streams will affect the water source.

We need to look at sustenance of our water sources, rather than short terms benefits,” says Dr T.V. Ramachandra, a former member of the Western Ghats Task Force.
Dr Subash Chandran, Centre for Ecological Sciences, IISc, too believes that the Yettinahole project is ‘opportunistic’ and will cause major harm to the Western Ghats if implemented.

“The area where the project is being planned has one of the best pockets of primary forests and avid flora-fauna. Any kind of water diversion from Yettinahole will affect the entire river system of the ghats.

The Yettinahole is major tributary of the Gundia River which  me­r­ges with Kumar­adhara to become Netravati. The diversion will decrease the water flowing into the Arabian sea and this could  increase the salinity of the Netravati river which is considered the lifeline of Dakshina Kannada distri­ct,” he warns.