BANGALORE: The expert committee on the Upper Bhadra Project (Scheme A) has recommended in its report submitted to the Government recently the lifting of 15 tmcft (thousand million cubic feet) of water from the Tunga to the Bhadra reservoir and 21.5 tmcft from there to the Chitradurga branch canal.

Headed by K.C. Reddy, former Public Works Department Secretary, the six-member committee has also recommended modernisation of the Bhadra canal system for irrigating 2,54,023 acres of land in Chikmagalur and Chitradurga districts and supplying drinking water to Tumkur and Kolar districts at an estimated cost of Rs. 4,150 crore.

The Bhadra, one of the major tributaries of Tungabhadra, takes birth in Gangamula in the Kudremukh ranges of the Western Ghats. The river, after flowing for 193 km, joins the Tunga near Kudli in Shimoga district and thereafter becomes the Tungabhadra.

The Upper Bhadra Project has been proposed across the Bhadra in the Tungabhadra sub-basin of the Krishna Basin, upstream of the existing Bhadra Reservoir Project at Lakkavalli. The project has been thought of for long to provide irrigation to drought-prone areas of Chitradurga and Tumkur districts. Bellary and Kolar districts are also demanding water from the proposed project.

The Upper Bhadra was first mooted in 1969 at a cost of Rs. 53.68 crore. Since then several alternatives for the project have been worked out to provide irrigation facility to Chitradurga and Tumkur districts.

In 2001, 23 tmcft of water was allocated to the Upper Bhadra Project under Scheme A in the Revised Master Plan. This had been communicated to the Central Water Commission in the Revised Master Plan submitted on January 15, 2002.

Taking the allocation of 23 tmcft under Scheme A into consideration, the Government accorded administrative approval to the project on August 23, 2003, at a cost of Rs. 2,813 crore. The Government Order stated that the project had to be handed over to the Karnataka Neeravari Nigam Limited (KNNL) for implementation. The updated cost of the project in 2003-04 was Rs. 4072 crore. The committee has in its 133-page report recommended against construction of dams at Magundi and Tegurgudda on the grounds of negative environmental effect.

In Stage I, it has recommended lifting of 15 tmcft of water from the Tunga in two stages and feeding it into a 15-km diversion canal to drop water into the Bhadra Reservoir. It has proposed lifting of three tmcft of water each month from June to October (five months) to ensure a supply of 15 tmcft of water. The estimated cost is Rs. 125 crore.

In Stage II, the scheme envisages the lifting of 21.5 tmcft of water from the Bhadra Reservoir to the Chitradurga branch canal through a canal system in three stages (estimated cost Rs. 783 crore). Thereafter, the Chitradurga branch canal will off-take feeding the lands in Kadur and Tarikere taluks of Chikmagalur district, Hosadurga, Hiriyur, Chitradurga and Challakere taluks of Chitradurga. The estimated cost of the Chitradurga branch canal and its network is Rs. 842 crore. The command area proposed under the Chitradurga branch canal will get water for irrigation only during the kharif season.

The report has suggested filling up all tanks (37) in the command area in Chikmagalur and Chitradurga districts, which would help recharge groundwater to overcome the drinking water problem. However, it suggests that before filling up tanks, silt should be removed from them. The requirement of water for irrigation and filling up tanks in Chikmagalur and Chitradurga command areas would be 15.9 tmcft.

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