BENGALURU:  BJP members in the Legislative Council created a ruckus on Tuesday demanding a House Committee probe into the alleged scam in installation and maintenance of drinking water purification plants across the state. If the plants are not repaired before summer, it might disrupt drinking water supply.

BJP MLC Raghunath Malkapure pointed out that funds released for these units have been misused by Rural and Panchayath Department officials. He alleged that state government has entrusted the installation of water plants to the Karnataka Rural Infrastructure Development Limited (KRIDL), violating the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurement Act, and that the KRIDL has either not done the work or done a shoddy job.

Opposition party leader Kota Srinivas Poojari said that more than 50 per cent of drinking water plants are not working. While at one place a unit costs `6 lakh, at other places it can cost `10 lakh, `15 lakh or `17 lakh. How can units of the same capacity vary so much in price, he asked.

“When we staged protests, cost of plants came down to `10 lakh from `17 lakh. Why is the government keeping mum?’’ he questioned. Replying to the House, RDPR Minister Krishna Byregowda said they have approved installation of 18,552 drinking plants, of which, 16,166 have been installed. Around 2,000 plants are in various stages of completion. 

State will get 22 TMC of water from TungaBhadra Balancing reservoir: D K SHIVAKUMAR
The proposed Tungabhadra Balancing Reservoir at Navile village in Gangavathy taluk will get the state 22 TMC of water, while Andhra will get 11 TMC, said Water Resource Minister D K Shivakumar.  Replying to Congress’ MLC Bose Raju, who asked about the status of the reservoir, Shivakumar said this is a prestigious project being taken up by the state. The existing Tunga Bhadra reservoir, over a period of time, has accumulated silt, and can otherwise can hold 33 TMC of water. Experts from around the globe have found that de-silting is not feasible.