Maha govt to oppose increase in Almatti Dam height: Minister Vikhe Patil

Mumbai, July 4 (IANS) The Maharashtra government's stand on the proposal to increase the height of the Almatti Dam is clear and it government will continue to oppose any such move by the Karnataka government, said Water Resources Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil during the Question Hour in the Legislative Council on Friday. He was replying to a question raised by Bhai Jagtap (Congress).

Stating that water discharge and its management are important issues, Minister Vikhe-Patil said that policy measures have been formulated in this regard.

He said that the amount of discharge for daily use and to prevent possible floods is also being considered.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has communicated to the Chief Minister of Karnataka through a letter not to raise the height of the Almatti Dam, he told the state council.

Vikhe-Patil recently said that the state government has consistently opposed Karnataka government’s plans to increase height of Almatti dam.

The government has sought report from the National Institute of Hydrology in Roorkee which will provide an unbiased assessment of the potential impacts stemming from the proposed elevation of the dam.

CM Devendra Fadnavis recently in a letter to the Karnataka CM objected to increasing the height of the Almatti dam. Expressing concern that Sangli and Kolhapur districts in Maharashtra would face flooding if the height was raised, CM Fadnavis has asked for re-evaluating the plan to raise the height.

CM Fadnavis had urged Karnataka to “reconsider the plan to increase the height of Almatti dam from the present level of 519.6 metres to full reservoir level (FRL) of 524.256 metres to protect the safety of people from floods in Kolhapur and Sangli districts in Maharashtra".

However, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah in a letter to Maharashtra CM Fadnavis defended Karnataka’s decision to increase the height of the Lal Bahadur Shastri reservoir on the Krishna at Almatti. He has argued that Karnataka has the right to increase the dam height even without waiting for the Union government to publish the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal award.

--IANS

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