Thu Mar 13 11:23:58 UTC 2025: ## Karnataka to Share Alternative Plan for Tungabhadra Reservoir with Andhra Pradesh and Telangana
**Bengaluru, March 13, 2025** – Karnataka has abandoned its plan to construct a balancing reservoir at Navali to address the siltation problem at the Tungabhadra reservoir and will instead propose an alternative solution to Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Deputy Chief Minister and Irrigation Minister D.K. Shivakumar announced this in the Legislative Council today.
The original proposal, which involved acquiring 15,000 acres of land in Koppal district for the Navali reservoir, was deemed unviable due to the enormous silt accumulation reducing the Tungabhadra reservoir’s storage capacity by approximately 30 tmc ft. A technical report concluded that silt removal was impractical.
Instead, Karnataka will propose a water pumping solution that avoids reservoir construction. This alternative plan, Mr. Shivakumar explained, would benefit Karnataka by 65% and the other riparian states by 35%. He has already discussed the initial proposal with Telangana and Andhra Pradesh’s irrigation ministers and is seeking a meeting with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu to further discuss both proposals. Mr. Shivakumar also plans to raise the issue with the Centre during a meeting on the Pennar river with Tamil Nadu representatives on March 18. The decision comes after a question raised by Congress member Basanna Gouda Badarli regarding the lack of allocation for the Navali project in the current budget.
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