Mangaluru: Despite opposition from the people of Nethravathi River basin in Dakshina Kannada against the “Yettinahole Integrated Drinking Water Project”, the state government which is eyeing on the forthcoming Assembly elections is keen to materialise the project as soon as possible.

In tax payers’ money, government in the name of “Yettinahole Integrated Drinking Water Project” is getting ready to construct a 16-Km concrete road from Maranahalli to Yettinahole, Kerihole, Hongadahalla from the stretch of NH 76 in Shiradi Ghat. Earlier, this was a mud road within the forest. People from Kadagarahalli, Aluvahalli, Hiridanahalli were using this mud road. But state government in the name of Yettinahole Project, by chopping off several trees constructed a 8-Km concrete road in the Western Ghats! Environmental activists also are questioning that when there is a mud road, what is the necessity to construct a 16-km concrete road in the forest by chopping several trees?

The state government on February 17’ 2014, gave administrative approval for Rs 12,912.36 Crore for the work. According to state government, this project would benefit 68.35 lakh people of 6557 villages, 29 taluks from 7 districts of Karnataka. About 24 TMC of water can be lifted by constructing eight weirs to the west flowing streams in Western Ghats connecting to river Nethravathi. Already the construction process of 8 weirs has been started. With the construction of three weirs to Yettinahole tributary, two weirs to Kadumanehole, three weirs at Kerihole, Hongada Halla, Yetinahole, the Vishweshwaraiah Neeravari Nigama is implementing this project. State government has already spent Rs 185 Crore till November 2016 for this project.

Though the government is implementing such a massive project, unfortunately, there is no transparency and quality in work. Government has nowhere revealed in the project report regarding how many thousand acres of agricultural land will farmers lose; how many families will lose their residences while implementing the project and so on. Moreover, government has quietly started the construction of dam at Byragondalu in Tumkur district, to collect 5.78 TMC water. Hence government has to acquire 5360 acres of land in 27 villages. Nowhere, the government has mentioned this in the detailed project report. How much land would be submerged in the project while collecting 24 TMC? As the farmers are going to lose the land, to provide proper compensation and rehabilitation, now the government has begun the process to identify that how many farmers’ land will be submerged, due to the construction of dam at Byragondalu to collect water from Yettinahole. To flow water across 274 Km from Doddanagara, several acres of land is required. Government has failed to reveal how many acres of land farmers are going to lose in plains and Western Ghats? What might be the total cost to complete the project? When the project will be completed?

Once the water is lifted from all the eight weirs at Yettinahole, it will be collected at Doddanagara Pump House, where massive four pipes have been laid in several acres of agricultural land in Sakleshpur. Though the government commenced the work, it has not completed the process of land acquisition. In Hebsale Village of Sakleshpur Taluk, massive pipes have to be laid passing through the coffee estates but the government has not completed the land acquisition. Though already massive pipes been laid to lift the water from Kerihole, Hongadahalla and Yethinahalla. But, nowhere there is a guarantee that water will not be leaked. Even the laying of pipelines seems to be substandard.

Moreover, it was also the responsibility of government to see that Western Ghats and its ecology are not affected. Unfortunately, several trees in the Western Ghats have been cut for the project. Moreover, to lay pipelines complete forest has been destroyed by using huge bulldozers. As the project affected the elephant corridor there will likely be a man and animal conflict, opine environmental activists.

The contract of Yettinahole project has been handed to three reputed firms. Usually in the government projects, inorder to acquire land from the farmers, a gazetted notification has to be passed after fixing the land value but violating this law, the work of acquisition has been given to the contractors. The companies having the contract for installing the pipelines have taken the land for lease from farmers without paying them! In a few places of Sakleshpur Taluk, contractors have given hefty amount in advance to make use of their land and silence the owners over the project.