3 days ago
Almatti dam height issue: MVA netas seek meeting with flood study panel members
Kolhapur: Maha Vikas Aghadi's elected representatives have written to state irrigation minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, expressing concern over their exclusion from discussions regarding the Almatti dam height issue.
They are requesting clarification on state govt's position concerning floods and Karnataka's plans for the dam's elevation.
Despite Vikhe Patil's assurance at a May 21 meeting in Mumbai about including all political parties in subsequent discussions, MVA functionaries report they weren't invited to the May 31 meeting.
The correspondence, endorsed by MPs Shahu Chhatrapati, Vishal Patil, and legislators from Kolhapur, Sangli, and Satara districts, raises several queries.
They seek information about the implementation status of the Nandkumar Vadnere committee's recommendations following the 2019 floods. The MVA politicians requested a consultation with the panel to understand their conclusions about the dam height on flooding.
They also raised questions about the status of the National Institute of Hydrology's study regarding the dam's backwater effects on flooding, and whether their findings have been submitted to the govt.
"Over the past month, approximately 3,000 objections have been filed with central govt by the people of Sangli and Kolhapur regarding the concerns of raising the height of the dam. What is central govt's stance on these objections, and has state govt corresponded with central govt on this matter? If not, why? These issues need clarification," said Satej Patil, Congress MLC.
The representatives are also requesting details about the Maharashtra Resilient Development Programme (MRDP), a Rs 3,200 crore initiative to address recurring floods in Kolhapur and Sangli districts. They specifically asked whether scientific studies support the project's effectiveness in flood control and requested access to relevant reports.
