Water Resources Minister Ramesh Jarkiholi on Saturday assured the Legislative Council that the land acquisition process for Upper Krishna Project phase 3 will be hastened.
“Unified rates have to be fixed for the land to be acquired and rehabilitation should be taken up. The process will start soon. We will consult the Chief Minister,” the Minister said, in response to the issue of North Karnataka irrigation projects raised by Leader of the Opposition S.R. Patil and JD(S) leader Basavaraj Horatti on the floor of the House on Friday.
The UKP phase-3 involved acquisition of nearly 1.3 lakh acres of land and submergence of 20 villages in the backwaters of Almatti reservoir of Bagalkot district. The project is set to irrigate about 14 lakh acres across seven North Karnataka districts. Mr. Jarkiholi pointed at the SLP in Supreme Court and the court’s direction not to notify the…