Karnataka - Raichur   

Committee formed to study TLBC improvement

By Our Staff Correspondent

RAICHUR, SEPT. 26. The Government has constituted a 10-member expert committee, headed by K.C. Reddy, chairman of the Technical Advisory Committee, to take up a detailed study of the proposed comprehensive improvement of the Tungabhadra Left Bank Canal (TLBC).

The Government has also decided to appoint an agency to conduct a survey for extending the 9-A distributary channel of the Narayanapura Right Bank Canal (NRBC) of the Upper Krishna Project to provide additional irrigation to 40 villages in Deodurga and Manvi taluks.

It also decided to take up work on the link canal between TLBC and NRBC to augment drinking water supply to Raichur city and solve water shortage problem in the TLBC tail-end command areas in Raichur taluk.

Meeting

Disclosing this to The Hindu on Sunday, N.S. Bose Raju, Manvi MLA and former chairman of the Hyderabad-Karnataka Development Board, said that a meeting of the high level committee, chaired by the Minister for Water Resources, M. Mallikarjun Kharge, was convened at Bangalore on Saturday to discuss the steps to be taken to improve irrigation facilities in the Krishna Basin.

The meeting was attended by the MPs and elected representatives of Koppal and Raichur districts.

He said that the committee discussed the prevailing situations under the command areas of the TLBC and the NRBC. It also discussed the pending proposal of implementation of a comprehensive improvement of the TLBC.

Mr. Raju said that after the discussions, the Minister gave his approval to the constitution of an expert committee headed by Mr. Reddy.

The other members of the committee include R.R. Kustagi, retired chief engineer of the Water Resource Department, representatives from the Indian Institute of Sciences, Bangalore, the Tor Steel Foundation, Bangalore, and soil experts from the Indian Institute of Soil Conservation and Technology, Pune.

Report

He said that the Minister had asked the committee to submit its report before the end of October so as to enable the Government to implement its suggestions.

On receipt of the report, the authorities concerned of the Water Resource Department would prepare the estimates and would submit the same to the Government before December seeking financial approval, he added.

Mr. Kharge reportedly assured the meeting that a separate grant would be floated either from the Karnataka Niravari Nigam, the Industrial Development Bank of India, or the Water Resource Development Funds after consultation with the Union Government. The State Government would pursue the matter with the Union Ministry for Water Resource and Development in this regard. Mr. Raju said that the Minister had suggested the authorities concerned to float tenders by January and finalise it before March so that work could commence in April. The improvement work would be completed before the next kharif season began in June, he added.

Extension

Regarding the extension of irrigation facilities to a few villages in Deodurga and Manvi taluks coming under the NRBC command area, Mr. Raju said that the meeting has approved to extend the excavation of the 9-A distributary of the NRBC. In this regard, the Minister had asked the Krishna Jala Bhagya Nigam to conduct a survey and submit it to the Government seeking its approval.

On the proposed link canal between TLBC and NRBC, Mr. Raju said that there was a proposal to take up the work on a link canal from the 108th km of the NRBC to the 109th mile of the TLBC.

The meeting was attended by K. Veerupakshappa, Koppal MP; and MLAs, Hampangouda Badarli (Sindhanoor), Muniyeppa Muddappa (Kalmala), Hanumanthappa Alkod (Deodurga), Iqbal Ansari (Gangavathi), Veerappa kesarahatti (Kanakagiri); M.T.M. Nayak, principal secretary; and Chennabassappa, retired secretary of the Water Resource Department.

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