The state cabinet has taken an important decision to fix compensation for land acquisition required for the implementation of the 3rd phase of the ambitious Upper Krishna Project project to provide irrigation facilities to the drought-hit districts of Vijayapura, Bagalkot, Kalaburagi, Yadgir and Raichur districts of North Karnataka. It has fixed Rs. 30 lakh per acre for dry land
and Rs. 40 lakh per acre for agricultural land.
This decision was taken in a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. Farmers had demanded that the land acquisition compensation rate be Rs. 35 lakh per acre for dry land and Rs. 42 lakh for agricultural land. They protested in this regard and demanded the government. Now the state government has decided to fix Rs. 30 lakh per acre for dry land. And Rs. 40 lakh per acre for agricultural land. Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H.K. Patil informed this after the cabinet meeting.
Consideration to raise the height of the dam
The government is planning to raise the height of the Almatti dam from 519.6 meters to 524.25 meters. The project cost was initially estimated at Rs. 51,184 crore for the implementation of the 3rd phase of the Krishna Upper River Project. The land acquisition process was estimated at Rs. 17,627 crore. However, a total of 1,33,867 acres of land is required for the implementation of this project, out of which 75,563 acres will be submerged in backwater. So far, land acquisition orders have been issued for 29,566 acres, and the remaining land acquisition process needs to be initiated.
One of the largest irrigation projects in the state, UKP aims to provide irrigation facilities to rain-fed areas based on the Almatti and Narayanpur dams. In the third phase, the height of the Almatti reservoir will be increased from 519.6 meters to 524.25 meters. This will enable the storage of an additional 130 TMC of water.
The third phase of the Krishna Upper River Project includes the districts of Vijayapura, Bagalkot, Kalaburagi, Yadgir, Raichur, and Koppal and Gadag. While 4.25 lakh hectares were irrigated through the Narayanpur and Almatti dams in the first phase, 1.97 lakh hectares were irrigated in the second phase. The first phase was completed in 1990, while the second phase was completed in 2000. Now, the third phase has begun.
