Can't finish Upper Krishna Project, need more funds: CM Siddaramaiah

Belagavi: Urging people to give a clear mandate to the Congress once again in the next Assembly elections, CM Siddaramaiah said that it was difficult to implement all irrigation projects under the third phase of Upper Krishna Project (UKP-III) during the government's present tenure due to rising demand for funds to complete a string of mega projects.

Speaking at the inauguration of a programme to mark the filling of the historic Begun talab (tank) in Vijayapura on Thursday, the CM highlighted the  need for the full implementation of UKP-III to bring the vast stretch of dry land across Krishna basin under irrigation. Disclosing the drastic rise in UKP-III’s project cost in the last some years, the CM said, “The project cost, estimated at Rs 17,000 crore before the Centre announced its new land acquisition policy, has risen drastically in the last three years. As per fresh estimates, Rs 50,000 crore is needed for implementation of the project apart from an addtional Rs 30,000 crore for works to be taken up for rehabilitation of all villages to be affected under various irrigation projects.”

While admitting his government's inability to mobilise the huge amount of funds for UKP-III in the remaining tenure of his government, the CM called upon people to vote the Congress to power again for brisk completion of the project. Listing a series of initiatives launched by his government to fill lakes and tanks across the state, he said, his government is focused on reviving tanks and introducing drip irrigation to improve the groundwater table in dry land. Assuring people of Vijayapura, a drought-prone areas with acute scarcity of water, that the government was about to overcome drought in the region, the CM said all 284 tanks in the district would be revived by December 2017.

Later, the CM attended the silver jubilee of Agriculture College, Vijayapura where he outlined the importance of implementing the concept of ‘lab to land' to bolster the agriculture sector, particularly in dry stretches of Vijayapura. Research work and experiments being done in universities would be of no use if the agriculture sector was not utilising them for  higher yield, he added.

The research centres should develop technology that could ensure higher revenue from limited resources as water bodies and land were shrinking fast due to urbanization and climate change, he said and called upon farmers to adopt  integrated farming for higher earning by taking up supplementary activities such as dairy farming and horticulture.