Cauvery basin areas to receive Rs 2,000 crore in grants: Deputy Chief Minister

Mandya: Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has said that the government has cleared grants worth Rs 2,000 crore for the Cauvery basin areas including Rs 1,000 crore for Mandya district.

He offered ‘baagina’ at the KRS reservoir along with Chief Minister recently.

This is the first time since its inception 92 years ago that the KRS dam is full in the month of June. “In just two years, our government has enhanced the Cauvery basin area. We have refurbished 80-year-old canals,” the DC said.

“Last year, we had released 305 TMC of water to Tamil Nadu, well above the stipulated amount of 177 TMC. In the year 2022-23, we had released 400 TMC of water. It may be noticed that the water flow comes down drastically once in three years,” he said.

Cauvery aarti

Shivakumar appealed to all those opposing the Cauvery aarti not to oppose it for the sake of opposition. “Water neither has caste nor religion. Worshipping water is in our tradition,” he said requesting cooperation for the initiative.

“We have designated a location for the aarti half a kilometre away from the KRS dam. Do we need someone’s permission to offer prayers? The Cauvery aarti initiative will provide jobs for 1,500 people from Mandya district. Development of Brindavan gardens will provide employment for 3,000 local people. We are only making a place for people to be seated during the Cauvery aarti,” he said.

The DCM said: “Our objective is to make Brindavan gardens an attractive tourist destination. We have put in place Dasara-style lighting and we have obtained fountains from abroad. The Chief Minister has decided to make this an attractive destination. The private sector is ready to invest in this,” he added.

“The budget was presented recently, and the grants for Cauvery basin areas will come in. We will keep our word. The Finance department releases money in installments in view of fiscal discipline. Our government has given more grants to the Cauvery basin than others. Contractors have to be patient.”

‘Ready for Mekedatu project’

Earlier in the day, speaking to reporters at Mysuru airport, Shivakumar said, “Our achkut area has increased by 6 percent. We are committed to the Mekedatu project. We have even opened an office for the project in Kanakapura. We are confident that we will get justice in the court. We are also ready with alternative land for the submerged lands.”

Asked why there was no development in the Cauvery and Kabini basin thus far, he said, “We have given a grant of Rs 1,000 crore to Mandya in the budget and we have given Rs 400 crore for development of the Kabini basin. We have done a lot of work to ensure water reaches farmers in the tail end of the canals.”