Goemkarponn desk
PANAJI: Karnataka’s application for the diversion of forest land for the construction of the Kalasa nala irrigation project in the Mhadei basin has not received any approval from the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL), according to information provided to the Lok Sabha by the Union Ministry for Environment, Forests, and Climate Change (MoEF&CC).
The Union Minister responded to a query posed by Captain Viriato Fernandes, the MP for South Goa, by saying that the application was discussed at the NBWL Standing Committee’s 77th meeting in January of this year.
“However, no approval for this project has been given by the Board so far,” added the minister.
Approximately 11 hectares of forest area on the tiger corridor connecting the Sahyadri and Kali tiger reserves were to be used for this purpose. This is intended to support the building of a power line, pipeline, electrical substation, jack well-cum-pump house, diversion weir, and other communities in Kankumbi.
The project is a portion of the Kalasa Nala Diversion Scheme construction project being carried out by the State government in Khanapur taluk, Belagavi district.
