The Kalasa-Banduri Nala is a project undertaken by the Government of Karnataka to improve drinking water supply to the Districts of
Belagavi
Belgaum (ISO: ''Bēḷagāma''; also Belgaon and officially known as Belagavi) is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka located in its northern part along the Western Ghats. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous Belagavi ...
, Bagalkot,
Dharwad
Dharwad (), also known as Dharwar, is a city located in the north western part of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of the Dharwad district of Karnataka and forms a contiguous urban area with the city of Hubballi. It was merge ...
and
Gadag
Gadag-Betageri is a city municipal council in Gadag district in the state of Karnataka, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Gadag District. The original city of Gadag and its sister city Betageri (or ''Betgeri'') have a combined cit ...
. It involves building across Kalasa and Banduri, two tributaries of the
Mahadayi river to divert 7.56
TMC of water to the
Malaprabha river
The Malaprabha River (Kannada ಮಲಪ್ರಭಾ ನದಿ) is a tributary of the Krishna River and flows through the state of Karnataka in India. It rises in the Western Ghats at an elevation of in the state's Belgaum district. The rive ...
, which supplies the drinking water needs of the said 4 districts, i.e., Dharwad, Belagavi Bagalkot and Gadag.
This project had been on paper for decades and the Karnataka government decided to implement it during
S M Krishna
Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna (born 1 May 1932) is an Indian politician who served as Minister of External Affairs of India from 2009 to October 2012. He was the 16th Chief Minister of Karnataka from 1999 to 2004 and the 19th Governor of Mahara ...
's regime. Clearance for the project was received from the center in 2002. The project however, soon ran into trouble when the then
Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...
(BJP) government of Goa headed by
Manohar Parrikar
Manohar Parrikar (born Manohar Gopalkrishna Prabhu Parrikar; 13 December 1955 – 17 March 2019) was an Indian politician and leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party who served as Chief Minister of Goa from 14 March 2017 until his death. Previous ...
raised objections to the project claiming that the project would harm Goa's flora and fauna. Following this, the then
National Democratic Alliance
National Democratic Alliance (NDA) () is a Centre-right politics, centre-right to Right-wing politics, right-wing and Conservatism, conservative Indian big tent political alliance led by the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). It was foun ...
(NDA) government which was in power at the center put on hold its approval and funding of the project.
Karnataka and Goa have since then been at loggerheads over the project. The project which had been put in abeyance for four years was revived after H. D. Kumaraswamy became the Chief Minister. In September 2006, the coalition government in Karnataka headed by Chief Minister H. D. Kumaraswamy decided to go ahead with the construction work. It was inaugurated on 22 September at Kanakumbi in
Khanapur
Khanapur officially known as Khanapura is a panchayat town in Belagavi district, Karnataka, India. It is about 26 km from Belagavi. The town is governed by the Khanapur Municipal Council. Khanapur is the headquarters for Khanapur taluk. ...
Taluk of
Belgaum District. The Goa government, however, soon moved the courts and brought a stay on the construction work. The matter is now before the
Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal (MWDT), also referred to as the Mhadei Water Disputes Tribunal, is a tribunal that adjudicates the dispute over River Mhadei water allocation.
The sharing of the waters of this river is a cause of dispute between ...
.
Protest to Implement the Project
Communist Party of India (Marxist)
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)/CPIM/CPM) is a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist communist List of political parties in India, political party in India. It is the largest communist party of India in term ...
organized a rally in Belagavi on 16th Sept, 2015 to implement this long time-pending project. CPI(M) State Secretary GV Srirama Reddy along with his colleague Swamy, Varalaxmi and district secretary G.M. Jaine Khan lead this rally. GV Srirama Reddy said "The present imbroglio on the projects to the long pursued politics between the Congress and the
BJP
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...
in Karnataka and Goa." Srirama Reddy was critical of Prime Minister
Narendra Modi
Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from ...
for throwing the ball in the courts of
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...
instead of taking a lead to resolve the dispute: "It is unbecoming of a Prime Minister to take a political stand based on his political differences with Congress on an issue concerning people.".
A statewide bandh was organized by pro-Kannada organizations on Sept 26, 2015 demanding the implementation of the project.
The agitation in the malaprabha catchment area under various organisations has now reached 265 days.
Present status of the Project
Central Water Commission has approved the DPR (Detailed Project Report) submitted by Karnataka as on 29th December 2022.
Center approves Kalasa Banduri Project
/ref> Karnataka has received the green signal to divert 2.18 tmc (61.8 Mcum) of Mahadayi river at the proposed Banduri Dam, and 1.72 tmc (48.7 Mcum) of the water at the proposed Kalasa Dam.
References
in ''The Hindu
''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...
''
Bhoomi Pooja for Kalasa-Banduri
{{DEFAULTSORT:The Kalasa-Banduri Nala Project
Politics of Karnataka
Politics of Goa
Inter-state disputes in India
Water supply and sanitation in India
Hubli–Dharwad
History of Goa (1961–present)