Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)

Bengaluru, Dec 18: An important meeting, where the future of Yettinahole drinking water project would be discussed and decided, is being held at Kendriya Sadan at Koramangala here on Friday December 18. The meeting will discuss pros and cons of a proposal sent by the state government to the centre seeking environmental clearance for going ahead with the execution of the controversial Yettinahole project.

The meeting also gains significance because of the stay granted by the south zone bench of National Green Tribunal at Chennai against continuing with works on the project. While the state government expects that it would get the permission as sought for from the government, Dakshina Kannada MP, Nalin Kumar Kateel, who is spearheading an agitation against the project, and who led a delegation to union water resources and environment and forest ministers urging them to decline the permission, has claimed that he has extracted an assurance from environment minister, Prakas Javadekar, of not granting permission for the project in its present form.

The regional committee meeting of union environment and forest ministry comprising environmental and technical experts is being held in the city today. The meeting will be discussing the proposal sent by the state water resources department to use 13.93 hectares of forest land for the project. The state expects to get permission as sought, subject to the condition that the state has to make good this area by setting aside revenue land for growing forest.

The delegation led by Kateel to environment minister, Prakash Javadekar and water resources minister, Uma Bharti on Thursday, explained about the catastrophic after affects of the project on the people living in Karnataka coast. The delegation, with the help of various papers, stressed that the biodiversity in the Western Ghats would be hit hard by the project. The delegation had irrigation expert, Dr G S Mayya, retired IAS officer, V V Bhat, Mangaluru deputy mayor, Purushotham Chitrapur, advocate, Prince Issac, environmentalist, Shashiraja Shetty and K N Somashekhar, as well as Ramachandra Baikampady and Sanjeev Matandoor as its members.

The state government had complied with the requirement of seeking permission from the central government before preparing detailed project report, and also has clarified points raised by the central government. Therefore, it is hopeful of getting clearance as sought, without any hitch.