Kalasa-Banduri Naala project turning out to be a white elephant?

Belagavi: The Kalasa-Banduri Naala project, which  will bring a mere 7.5 tmc feet of water to the Malaprabha in Karnataka  from Goa's Mandovi river,  could prove a huge financial burden on the state .

The project , which cost Rs 94 crore  in 2008, will today need Rs 758 crore to implement. And if the Mahadayi Water Tribunal delays it further, the cost could go up even more. Over Rs 100 crore has already been spent on the initial phase of the Kalsa nala by the state government  which has chosen to go ahead with it although it has not received all the Central clearances yet.  Once the tribunal gives its okay more work on the project will begin in the dense forest on the border between the two states.

Going by documents provided under RTI, the government is exploring all legal options to fight Goa on the project. It has spent a whopping Rs 9 crore as fees for lawyers arguing its case for the  last several months. Legal bigwigs like Fali Nariman are assisting it in its case before the tribunal.

CM Siddaramaiah and  several other leaders from the state have failed to persuade the Centre and Goa  to resolve the dispute out of court.  Chief Ministers of Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka are now likely to meet to discuss whether the project can be implemented without the tribunal's clearance.

Meanwhile, leaders from Hubli-Dharwad, Nargund, Navalgund, Badami, Ron Gadag and several surrounding villages are on an indefinite dharna in various parts of north-Karnataka to bring pressure on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene and resolve the dispute. The Union Water Resources Ministry had cleared the project in 2002, encouraging Karnataka to   begin work on it at Kankumbi.