(a) whether the Ministry has approved technical clearance to Upper Bhadra project in the State of Karnataka;
(b) if so, the details thereof along with the basis on which such clearance has been approved;
(c) whether views/opinion of lower riparian States of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh has been taken;
(d) if so, the details thereof; and
(e) whether Upper Bhadra Project has been given environmental, forest and other clearances and if so, the details thereof?
THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI
(SHRI BISHWESWAR TUDU)
(a) & (b) Yes, Sir. Detailed project report for Upper Bhadra Project (UBP) was submitted for appraisal by Government of Karnataka to Central Water Commission (CWC) under this Ministry, in December, 2019. Based on successful completion of the techno-economic examination of all relevant aspects, including inter-State aspects, hydrology, irrigation planning, designs etc., techno-economic viability of the project was accepted by the Advisory Committee on Irrigation, Flood Control and Multipurpose Projects of Ministry of Jal Shakti, in its 147th meeting held in December, 2020.
(c) & (d) Water allocation for the project is well within the allocations of waters of river Krishna, made by Krishna Waters Dispute Tribunal-I to the State of Karnataka. In such cases where there is either an agreement between the riparian States, or a Tribunal award, views/ opinion of other riparian States are not required by CWC for assessment of inter-State aspects.
However, the issues flagged by the States of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana regarding inter-State aspects of the project have been examined by CWC, and detailed response in this regard has been provided to the two States.
(e) Yes, Sir. Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has accorded environmental clearance for Upper Bhadra Project vide letters dated 05.01.2010 and 10.07.2017; & forest clearance vide letters dated 20.12.2017, 22.12.2017 & 17.06.2020.
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