Karnataka Seeks Rs. 173 cr More For Dams.

The state government has sought more money from the Central Water Commission (CWC) under the Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP).

Funded by the World Bank, the state had earlier received a Rs. 276.75 crore loan for improvement and rehabilitation of 27 dams.

The original project proposal from the state listed 113 dams and 77 minor irrigation tanks for improvement and had sought Rs. 483 crore.

Karnataka's Chief Engineer of DRIP, Mahesh M Hiremath, said that earlier the CWC had selected four states, including Karnataka, for the disbursement of the loan. 'But later other states also sought money and so we could not get the complete amount we sought. Though our compliance has been good, costs have increased by 50 per cent over the last few years and now we need an additional `173 crore to finish work on the 27 dams,' Hiremath said.

The CWC, according to Hiremath, was satisfied with the progress on the work and hoped this would convince CWC to allocate more to the rehabilitation work.

Taken up on a pilot basis, the work on the dams, which are around 100 years old, consist of plugging seepages, strengthening the foundation, which have weakened due to erosion, and increasing the height of the dam, where there is the problem of overflowing, among others.

At the Second National Dam Safety Conference held recently, Water Resources Minister M B Patil said that out of 236 dams in the state, eight were really large dams and attention had to be paid on the safety of these dams.

He said, “We have sought help from CWC and we have also decided to seek help from Netherlands with regards to adoption of better technology for the operation and maintenance of the dams.”

The Minister also said that the state was planning construction of a dam at Navile in Mandya district and they would approach the Netherlands for help on this.

THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS