Bengaluru, Sep 4 — Karnataka Water Resources Minister N. Cheluvarayaswamy on Friday directed officials to expedite all processes related to the Mekedatu project and instructed district administrations to identify suitable alternative land for compensatory purposes at the earliest.

The move has assumed significance as Tamil Nadu is opposing the project.

The minister held a video conference with all district Deputy Commissioners at Vikas Soudha here on Friday to review the progress of the project and stressed that the government was committed to laying its foundation at the earliest.

Cheluvarayaswamy directed officials to identify alternative land to compensate for the forest land that will be submerged by the project and submit a report without delay.

He made it clear that residential areas should not be included in the report and that only deemed forest land and land belonging to the Revenue Department should be identified.

The project is expected to submerge around 5,096 hectares of forest land, for which the state government is required to provide compensatory land.

The Revenue Department has already identified around 20,000 hectares of land, but about 5,000 hectares suitable for raising forest cover needs to be provided on priority.

As deemed forest land falls under the jurisdiction of the Revenue Department, officials discussed the possibility of identifying compensatory land in Chamarajanagar, Mandya, and Bengaluru South districts in a 1:2 ratio.

The meeting also discussed the possibility of meeting the entire requirement from the nearly 30,000 hectares of deemed forest land available in Mandya district alone, subject to approval from the department concerned.

If only Revenue Department land is considered, the Minister directed all districts to identify land equivalent to the area that would be submerged by the project.

The Mandya Deputy Commissioner informed the meeting that preparations had already been completed to provide 772 hectares of land from the district, while the remaining requirement would have to be met through deemed forest land.

Chitradurga, Raichur, Davanagere, Bagalkot, Yadgir, Haveri, Gadag, Vijayanagara, Bengaluru Rural, and Chamarajanagar districts have already conducted surveys of 'C and D' category lands and submitted reports on the land available.

The Mandya Deputy Commissioner has been appointed as the nodal officer for Revenue Department land. The Minister directed the appointment of another senior officer as nodal officer to streamline the process relating to forest land.

The state's Additional Chief Secretary is scheduled to visit Delhi on September 7, with discussions on September 8 expected to provide clarity on whether deemed forest land can be considered as compensatory land.

The Minister directed officials to complete the transfer of land immediately once approval is obtained.

He also said irrigation corporations could be utilised if funds were required, while cautioning officials to ensure that no rules or regulations of the Union government or the Forest Department were violated.

Revenue and Forest Department officials have been directed to jointly complete the survey of land and trees likely to be submerged and submit a report within 10 days.

Another review meeting on the Mekedatu project will be held within the next 10 days, by which time all Deputy Commissioners and forest officials have been asked to complete the necessary surveys and submit their reports.

Expressing his determination to lay the foundation for the Mekedatu project as soon as possible, Cheluvarayaswamy warned that negligence in matters related to the project would not be tolerated.

He directed that notices be issued to the Deputy Commissioners who remained absent from the video conference without prior information.

The Minister said that despite being scheduled to accompany the Chief Minister for a drought review programme, he had accorded priority to the Mekedatu project and conducted the meeting.

He expected officials to demonstrate the same level of commitment and urgency, he said.

Additional Chief Secretaries Gaurav Gupta, Rajendra Kumar Katharia, and Anjum Parvez, CNN MD Mahesh and Mekedatu project nodal officer Dr Kumar were among those present at the meeting.

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