BENGALURU: Chief minister BS Yediyurappa has received a proposal for a new hydroelectricity plant at a time when the state has predicted excess power production and low bulk demand. At a meeting with Yediyurappa, the Kalyana-Karnataka human resources, agriculture and cultural association pitched the plan for a 1,200MW hydroelectricity plant in a little-known place called Gollapalli in Raichur district.
“This project was initially proposed 10 to 15 years ago, but never materialised. We are trying to give it a new lease of life by bringing it back under our action plan for the development of Kalyana Karnataka,” said the association’s president, Basavaraj Patil Sedam.
Telangana will also have to sign off on the project, which will involve diversion of Krishna River’s water from the original course, according to Sedam. Securing this approval may prove to be difficult. A similar project, Mekedatu, has been conceived in the Cauvery basin, and there’s a dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. “Yes, it is a project on the lines of Mekedatu with a balancing reservoir. But we don’t intend to use a single drop of water flowing to Telangana and wish to utilise it for power generation,” Sedam said.
