PANAJI
The Karnataka State Board of Wildlife has granted its approval for acquisition of forest land for damming and diversion of Kalasa Nala scheme.
The Board during its meeting held earlier this month approved Karnataka Neeravari Nigam Ltd (KNNL) proposal for construction of diversion weir, jackwell-cum-pump house, electrical substation, pipeline and powerline in Kanakumbi and other villages for construction of Kalasa Nala diversion scheme in Khanapur taluka of Belagavi district.
Categorised as a drinking water project, it involves a total 67.146 ha of wildlife area.
KNNL has recently floated the tender for completing the Kalasa project within a year. According to the tender, the Karnataka government has taken the decision to dam and divert the waters of Kalasa, Surla, and Haltara nullahs that flow naturally into the Mhadei.
The tender also includes the work of laying a pipeline from the jack well to Kalasa, interconnecting a canal along with the design, supply, installation, testing, and commissioning of pumping machinery with 11kV motors, a 110 kV/11kV sub-station, and a 110kV power transmission line.
The revised detailed project report (DPR) has already been approved by the Central Water Commission and according to it the scheme includes erection, testing, and commissioning of the construction of a diversion dam across the Kalasa nullah, and a jack well and a pump house on the foreshore.
As reported earlier, the Supreme Court is likely to hear on November 11, the Goa Government’s special leave petition (SLP) challenging the decision of the Mhadei Water Dispute Tribunal (MWDT) granting Karnataka 13.42 tmc (thousand million cubic feet) of water for its Kalasa-Bhandura drinking water cum irrigation project.
The Apex Court in its interim order has restrained Karnataka from going ahead with any damming or construction work without obtaining all the necessary permissions.
