Will withhold approval to Goa-Tamnar project, as Goa opposes Kalasa project: CM

Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has said the state will withhold its approval to Goa-Tamnar transmission project, which will be passing through ecologically sensitive Western Ghats region, as Goa is objecting to its Kalasa-BandhuriNala Diversion project.

In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, the CM urged Modi to intervene and ensure that the Kalasa project receives the necessary wildlife clearances at the earliest. According to him, not only the project, which is crucial for fulfilling the drinking water needs of North Karnataka, has been pending for an unusually long time for Wildlife Clearance from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), but the Goa Chief Wildlife warden has also passed an illegal order restraining Karnataka from undertaking any activities in it.

In view of the objections raised by Goa to the legitimate and long-pending drinking water project with minimum disruption to wildlife, and the consequent litigation that Karnataka has been forced into, the state has no choice but to reconsider its decision on clearance to the Goa-Tamner power Line, he stated in his letter.