Bengaluru, 9 Sept

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, his Deputy DK Shivakumar and Minor Irrigation, Science and Technology NS Boseraju launched the ‘Neeriddare Nale’ (water is future) project, which aims at reviving natural and traditional water sources and improving groundwater levels.

Siddaramaiah noted the dire shortage of groundwater in the State, while pushing for his government’s schemes.

“Excluding 144 taluks, there is a shortage of groundwater in the remaining taluks,” he said on Thursday in Vidhana Soudha. “For this reason, the KC Valley project to fill lakes in Kolar and Chikkaballapur was implemented. As a result, groundwater has now increased. But there are people who oppose even this.”

Yet, he underscored the importance of groundwater.

“Groundwater is being used through 3.7 million borewells in the State… There are reports that usage is 8 per cent higher than the national average.” he said. “There are also lakhs of unauthorised borewells.”

The State has been facing drought every four to five years, he mulled.

Meanwhile, Shivakumar, who also holds the water portfolio spoke about inter-State disputes.

He said Karnataka has not been able to utilise its share of water owing to the disputes and urged the neighbours to cooperate.

“I am not satisfied with the progress of irrigation projects in the State,” he said, noting that the Krishna, Cauvery, Tungabhadra, and Mahadayi river water disputes led to delays in the implementation of projects.

The first phase of ‘Neeriddare Nale’ will cover 525 groundwater-stressed gram panchayats across 16 districts and 27 taluks, including over 100 in the Kalyana Karnataka region, Boseraju had said in statement earlier.