Inter-state water disputes: CM Bommai to meet Union Water Resources Minister in April

Bengaluru: Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Sunday said he will meet the Union Water Resource Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in New Delhi to resolve several inter-state water disputes in the first week of April.

Emphasising the need to make all efforts to resolve inter-state water disputes at the earliest, Bommai said the state would get the legal issues to be resolved through the courts.

”We are yet to get various approvals from the Union government with regard to inter-state water disputes. I have instructed the departments concerned to make preparations for this. I am set to meet the Union Water Resources minister in April first week to take up the issue,” Bommai told reporters here.

”Regarding legal issues, I have told our legal team to find a remedy, particularly the Krishna tribunal notification. I have directed the officials to get ready for certain environmental clearances for some projects,” he added.

To a query on the possibility of leading an all-party delegation to New Delhi, the Chief Minister said he would speak to Shekhawat first and ”if situation rises, he would take a delegation of all the political parties in Karnataka to Delhi.” Speaking about attracting investments, Bommai said the industrial sector will get a boost as has been announced in the budget. Identification of land and other processes are in full swing to attract investments. Northern Karnataka has been given top priority, he added.

Further referring to the provisions in the budget, the Chief Minister explained that his government has given greater impetus for empowerment of women and setting up of Agricultural Secondary Directorate.

Also, the process for setting up Jayadeva Cardiac Hospital in Hubballi is on and the Deputy Commissioner of Hubballi has been instructed to identify land for the purpose as soon as possible. Similarly, construction of Kidwai hospital in Belagavi would be taken up, Bommai said.

Speaking about Kalyana Karnataka or the erstwhile Hyderabad-Karnataka region, Bommai said Rs 3,000 crore has been earmarked for the development of the region and work orders would be issued for all budget programmes before the end of April. Regarding North Karnataka, he said identification of land and attracting investments would be taken up for the development of the north Karnataka.

”The development era has come after the economy suffered a lot due to the COVID. Now we are coming out of its shadow. We will a robust foundation for the speedy development of our state,” Bommai said.