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by IANS |
Bengaluru, Nov 9 (IANS) Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Monday said that his government will implement the Mekedatu project as soon as they get clearance from the Central Water Commission.
"The matter of the Mekedatu project is in the court. Our government is legally dealing with it. The Central Water Commission's consent is required to begin the work at Mekedatu. We are honestly trying to get clearance from the Commission. We are confident that we will get the nod. As soon as clearance is obtained, we will implement the Mekedatu project," he said.
Terming Mekedatu "an ambitious project" of the state, he said it is their responsibility to implement it, and questioned Congress leaders about why they couldn't implement the project when they were in power.
"Congress is trying to pressurise the ruling BJP by announcing Padayatra which is not correct. Congress leaders took years together to prepare a Detailed Project Report DPR. Why couldn't they prepare DPR quickly and commence the work at Mekedatu?" he asked.
The state Congress had announced a massive padayatra from Mekedatu to Bengaluru in December demanding speedy implementation of the project.
State Congress President D.K. Shivakumar stated that the padayatra is being taken up as the Central and state BJP governments are not showing any concern for implementation of the project.
"There are no legal hurdles and only commitment is lacking for implementing the Mekedatu project. As a result, the share of water awarded to the state by authorities is being wasted," he claimed.
