The fate of the proposed drinking water project at Haleunduwadi located on the backwaters of KRS reservoir is in jeopardy. The reason being that the site suitable for the water works, was allotted to a realtor and now requires the government’s intervention to annul the allotment.
The project was mooted a few years ago by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) to meet the drinking water requirements of the city for the next 30 to 50 years.
Since Haleunduwadi is located about 4 km upstream from the KRS, water availability is said to be perennial and it can meet the drinking water needs of the city even if KRS attains dead storage level. A senior official in MUDA told The Hindu that Haleunduwadi is also situated at a higher altitude than Mysuru and hence, water supply to the entire city can be ensured through natural gravity flow. “But the area is in Mandya district and officials of the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Authority (KIADB) of that district were not in the loop and had no information of the project being conceived by MUDA,” the official said.
In the meantime, KIADB of Mandya had created sites in the vicinity and sold a large chunk of it to the realtor. “Around 80 acres been sold and there is no land now suitable for the drinking water project,” according to Chamaraja MLA Vasu, who has sought a meeting with the Chief Minister. He said the realtor had paid the amount and was legally on solid grounds. Only a cabinet decision or the Chief Minister’s intervention to rescind the allotment can salvage the project. Though a flurry of correspondence has taken place between MUDA, KIADB and the government, there is no progress, he added.
The Haleunduwadi project was to be implemented under JNNURM but did not receive administrative clearance. MUDA decided to revive it and made budgetary provisions for land acquisition but the project did not gather steam. It was in this interim period that KIADB in Mandya allotted the land to the realtor.
The project
Haleunduwadi on the backwaters of KRS is 4 km upstream of the dam and about 30 km from Mysuru. The project requires about 80 acres to 100 acres of land and if completed, can augment the drinking water supply to the city by 350 million litres in addition to nearly 260 MLD being supplied at present.
