Inaction by Union government stalling irrigation projects, says CM

Several irrigation projects in Karnataka have either stalled or slowed down owing to inaction by the Union government, said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah at Siraguppi village in Dharwad district on February 8.

He was speaking at the launch of several development works in Navalgund Assembly constituency, including a restraining wall to control floods in Bennihalla. The event was organised by the Water Resources Department and Karnataka Irrigation Corporation Limited. The flood control infrastructure will cost an estimated ₹200 crore in the first phase. The Chief Minister launched around 72 development works at the cost of ₹150 crore.

“The third phase of the Krishna Upper River Project has been stalled by the Union government. We have urged the Union Ministers concerned to issue a gazette notification that can enable us to start work, but in vain. Similarly, the Union government is yet to provide the necessary clearances to the Kalasa Banduri Nala project. The Central Wildlife Board is yet to approve our application, though the other departments have issued clearances and the Supreme Court approved the project in 2018. If all permissions are obtained, the work can start tomorrow itself,” the Chief Minister said.

On the Mekedatu drinking water project, Mr. Siddarmaiah said the project involves the usage of 65 tmcft of water. But it is stuck as the Union government is yet to clear the State’s proposals. The courts have already dismissed objections filed by Tamil Nadu, he added.

“The Upper Bhadra River project was considered a project of national importance in the Union Budget. The Centre promised to release ₹5,300 crore for the same, but no money has been released so far,’’ the Chief Minister pointed out.

“Some people are going around saying that the Karnataka government is not taking up development works as it has exhausted resources on guarantee schemes. That is far from the truth,” Mr. Siddaramaiah stated.

He added that several development works are under way across the State. “For example, we have taken all necessary steps to start work on the Kalasa Banduri Nala project. Since the Supreme Court approved the project, we called and finalised tenders and fixed the agency. However, work is yet to begin as we have not received the necessary clearances from the Union government,’’ the Chief Minister said, adding that “our government has spent around ₹25,000 crore on irrigation projects since coming to power’’.

He said that the Union government is collecting ₹4–5 lakh crore in taxes from Karnataka, but is releasing grants of only around ₹60,000 crore. “We have raised our objections against this,’’ he noted.

The Chief Minister criticised the BJP-led NDA government for introducing the VB-G RAM G scheme after making several changes to the MGNREGA Act. “For two decades, this scheme provided livelihood to rural folk, reduced distress migration to cities, and ended starvation deaths,” he added.

A look at the beneficiary statistics of MGNREGA reveals that 53% of beneficiaries were women. Out of the total beneficiaries, 28% are from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes — 17% and 11%, respectively. “The welfare scheme that aimed to provide jobs to the youth, women, and the unemployed has been abandoned. It is extremely unfortunate. However, we will not keep quiet. We will fight against this. We will fight to re-establish the MGNREGA scheme,” Mr. Siddaramaiah stated.

He said he is committed to making Navalgund a model constituency. “Several development works have been launched in the constituency. There are demands to build an underground drainage system in Annigeri town. It will be discussed before the Budget,” the Chief Minister noted, adding that the ₹200-crore flood prevention project was taken up at the insistence of N.H. Konaraddi, MLA.

Earlier, an estimated cost report of ₹1,610 crore was submitted to the Union government. “But since the Centre delayed approvals, we decided to take up the first phase at a cost of ₹200 crore. Due to the flash floods in the stream, about 37 villages and 20,000 hectares of land were flooded. This will be avoided by the restraining wall and other structures,’’ the Chief Minister said.

Mr. Siddaramaiah said he is a believer in Basavanna’s ideology of “inclusive and not othering”. We are running a welfare state. We have spent around ₹1.16 lakh crore on the five guarantee schemes. About ₹54,000 crore is used annually for the guarantee project. On an average, ₹4,000–5,000 is given to every family each month, or around ₹50,000 per year in direct benefits, he said.

Ministers H.K. Patil, Satish Jarkiholi, Santosh Lad, Prasad Abbayya, MLA, Salim Ahmed and F.H. Jakkappanavar, MLCs, leaders Shakir Sanadi and S.R. Patil, I.G. Sanadi, former MP, A.H. Hindasgeri, former Minister, Kusumavati Shivalli, former MLA, and others were present.

Published – February 08, 2026 08:26 pm IST