Karkala: “The Varahi irrigation project report is ready to be submitted to the government”, said the Karnataka Upa Lokayukta Subhash B Adi during a visit to Shivapura Elagoli Kalmunda stone crusher unit near Hebri here on Saturday, June 27.

Subhash B Adi said, “Since 1979 the project has been regulating without major developments, however the beneficiary of the project is neither the government nor the farmer, but a third party.”

He added that it is wrong to expect a 36-year-old project to finish within 3 to 6 months; it needs a lot of financial support and human power, which may take a long time.

He criticized the unprofessional dealings involved for acquitting land, the Subhash added that an in-depth enquiry has been done in this issue and the report would include the involvement of officials’ in-charge over the period of time as well as the lapses and negligence on the part of the administration.

However he concluded stating that they will not recommend ask the government to impede the project as it involved a large investment, human resources and time.

Varahi project is considered as one of the biggest scam in the state:

Around 638 crores have been spent on the project. Acres of forest land have been destroyed. There is a power project which generates power using the government water, land and dam and sells it to the government.  Every month the government pays Rs 1.87 crores to the power generated in the power project at Varahi irrigation dam for the past 15 years.