The state government has proposed to change the project design of the long-pending Yettinahole project by reducing the storage capacity of the Byragondlu reservoir, JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy has claimed in a letter to Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, urging the government to scrap the proposal.
Flaying the government for the decision, Kumaraswamy has demanded that the reservoir capacity be restored to 5.78 tmcft as per the earlier plan. The Byragondlu reservoir is a prominent component of the Yettinahole project, which envisages drinking water to Bengaluru Rural, Kolar and Chikkaballapur.
Works related to this reservoir was stuck from three years owing to land acquisition issues, Kumaraswamy pointed out, adding, "Now, it has come to my attention that the Visvesvaraya Jala Nigam has approved a proposal to reduce the capacity of the reservoir to 2 tmcft."
By changing the project plan time and again and by reducing the capacity of the reservoir, people have lost trust in the project. The state government has spent close to Rs 8,200 crore on Yettinahole project since its inception in 2012, Kumaraswamy said.
He urged the chief minister to ensure that this proposal to reduce the reservoir capacity was dropped at the earliest. The government must instead ensure land acquisition by offering proper compensation and stick to the already approved plan, the JD(S) leader said in the letter.