'KIADB for de-reserving land chosen for water project'.

The Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) is in favour of de-reserving a plot of land near Krishnaraja Sagar (KRS) reservoir taken up for acquisition by a property developer after civic bodies contended that the same piece of land had already been identified for setting up a water treatment plant as part of a drinking water scheme for Mysuru City.

The former Mayor B.L. Bhyrappa, during whose tenure the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) had raised a hue and cry over the acquisition of 90 acres of land in Beechanakuppe near the KRS for a property developer, said the KIADB had submitted a report to the government on the imperative of halting the acquisition process so that the drinking water project was not affected.

Pankaj Kumar Pandey, Managing Director, KIADB, who conducted a spot inspection of the land last month to resolve the controversy, has submitted a report to the government on the need for de-reserving the plot of land identified for the project. “Now, the ball is in the government's court. The government has to accept the KIADB's recommendation so that the identified land is set aside for the drinking water project, and take steps to implement the same,” he said.

Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board (KUWSDB) had identified the plot of land in Beechanakuppe, about two km from KRS, to set up the water treatment plant for the 300 MLD Hale Unduwadi Drinking Water Project as the land was situated on a peak and considered highly suitable to pump water to the city.

The Hale Unduwadi project had been conceived to facilitate drawing of water from the KRS even after the water dips below the dead storage level of 68 to 70 feet. However, the project is yet to receive the government’s nod.

Though the Detailed Project Report (DPR) had been prepared for the Hale Unduwadi project twice in the last couple of years, government approval has remained elusive, a KUWSDB official said. The first DPR for the project was for Rs. 320 crore and the second one prepared last year was for Rs. 480 crore. “Now, the DPR has to be recast again. With the recent revision of Standard Rates (SR) of the Public Works Department (PWD), the cost of project would cross Rs. 550 crore,” a KUWSDB official said.

The KUWSDB will take up the work of recasting the DPR afresh only after they receive instructions from the government.

THE HINDU