The Bellary Nala Dam and Canal Construction Project, which will irrigate thousands of hectares of land, will be resumed soon. The project was halted for ten years for several reasons.
The Bellary Nala project, which took off in 2008, was curtailed in 2010 due to forest land acquisition and lack of grants. The Project of Rupees hundreds of crores couldn’t take off . The canal work, which had been undertaken, was left unfinished. The government is now re-launching the scheme to facilitate farming.
NPA Fees Paid : The first stage approval was obtained from the Forest Department on April 20, 2010 to undertake the Bellary Nala project. In addition, Rs 33.54 crore has been paid to the Forest Department for the development of CA land, for the collection of treated water and for NPAs.
Handover of Land : The alternative CA land of 269.47 Hectares have been allotted to the Forest Department equivalently. 116.95 hectares in Jamakhandi taluk of Bagalkot district and 64.06 hectares in Bailahongala taluk of Belagavi district, a total of 181.01 hectares have been handed over to the Forest Department. A further 88.64 hectares of land is pending, same will be handed over soon and start the work Said Water resources department Engineer.
Irrigation Facility for 8,200 Hectares :
Implementation of Bellary Nala Irrigation Project & Dam to help 8200 hectares of the total 37 villages of Belagavi, Gokak, Bailahongala and Savadatti taluks. Out of which 22 villages of Savadatti taluk will be irrigated. The work on the canals is already in progress. Due to some problems, the works were curtailed. The villagers of Kabalapur, Siddhanahalli and Mastigoli villages in Belagavi taluk have been affected by this project. These villages should be surveyed and rehabilitated the people of the villages have appealed to the government.
“Site for the construction of the dam under the Bellary Nala project has been finalized. Also, farmers have agreed to provide the land required for the construction of the dam. The delay in the work of the Forest Department is due to other reasons, including land transfer. The work will commence soon”
– Ramesh Jarkiholi, Minister of Water Resources
Source : Vijayawani ; Report : Manjunath Koligudda
