CM Siddaramaiah writes to PM, FM seeking release of Rs 5,300 cr for Upper Bhadra project
Bengaluru, Jan 25 (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, requesting the release of Rs 5,300 crore for the Upper Bhadra River Project.
He also addressed a letter to Union Water Resources Minister C R Patil regarding the matter.
In the letter shared with the media on Saturday, the CM reminded them that during the 2023-24 Union Budget speech, Sitharaman had announced Rs 5,300 crore as central assistance for the Upper Bhadra Project.
In the letter sent separately, Siddaramaiah stated, "The inclusion process for the Upper Bhadra Project in the National Project Scheme has been delayed, and the progress of the project is being hindered due to the non-release of Central Assistance".
He emphasised that to accelerate the project's progress, it is crucial to release the Central Assistance already announced in the 2023-24 Union Budget.
Siddaramaiah explained that the ongoing Upper Bhadra Project in central Karnataka aims to provide irrigation to 2,25,515 hectares through drip irrigation in Chikkamagaluru, Chitradurga, Tumakuru, and Davanagere districts. It also seeks to supply water for filling 367 minor irrigation lakes in these districts to aid groundwater recharge, using 29.90 TMC of water.
"The components of the project were initiated in 2008, and substantial progress has been made, with the State Government incurring an expenditure of Rs 10,121.75 crore so far," the CM said.
He also mentioned that the advisory committee of the Ministry of Water Resources had on December 24, 2020, approved the techno-economic viability of the Upper Bhadra Project.
The proposal for investment clearance of the project, amounting to Rs 16,125.48 crore, was also approved in the 15th Investment Clearance Committee meeting held on March 25, 2021.
Additionally, the High-Powered Steering Committee (HPSC) has already recommended the proposal for inclusion in the National Project Scheme, Siddaramaiah explained.
He further noted that the Public Investment Board (PIB), under the Chairmanship of the Finance Secretary and Secretary (Expenditure), Ministry of Finance, had also recommended the inclusion of the Upper Bhadra Project in the National Project Scheme during its meeting on December 12, 2022.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
