BANGALORE: The Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal on Friday refused to alter the height of Almatti dam. This means Karnataka can go ahead and raise the height to 524.256 metres.
In December 2010, the tribunal ordered the height can be raised to 524.256 m. The riparian states are Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Andhra Pradesh opposed the move and sought a review of the order. On Friday, the tribunal ruled in Karnataka’s favour.
The tribunal also asked states to deal with unallocated water of Krishna river, subject to the competent authority’s approval.
A delighted Karnataka water resources minister MB Patil said: “It’s a historic day. We are happy.”
At least 1.2 lakh acres of land need to be acquired for increasing the height of the dam from 519m to 524m under the Upper Krishna Project III. The government is expected to face a major challenge in terms of relief and rehabilitation of 23 villages that’ll be submerged if water is impounded up to 524m at the Almatti balancing reservoir in Bagalkot district.
Meanwhile, the tribunal cut short 4tmcft of water from Karnataka’s share in Tungabhadra river and gave it to Andhra Pradesh, which is a setback. “This is an injustice; we’ll seek legal advice and chalk out our future course of action,” Patil said.
