File photo: Pipes and transformers laid for the Yettinahole Integrated Drinking Water project in Sakaleshpura in Hassan District. | Photo credit: The Hindu
At its meeting on October 27, the Advisory Committee of the Ministry of Environment said there have been complaints that Phase I of the Yettinahole project has already caused massive landslides and destruction of the ecologically sensitive Western Ghats without being able to supply drinking water to the districts claimed by the user body.
The panel said this background makes it even more important to carefully review the proposal before granting further approval.
According to minutes of the meeting, the state’s revised proposal seeks to divert about 111 hectares of forest land in Hassan and Tumkur districts for the canal, less an original submission of 173.31 hectares.
The committee noted that a substantial part of the work, including about 10.13 km of canal, has already been constructed without prior approval in violation of the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam 1980.
The forest authorities have registered an FIR against the executive engineer of Visvesvaraya Jala Nigam Ltd (VJNL) for unauthorized construction, but satellite images show that most of the violations occurred after the case was filed in February 2019.
The panel directed the Karnataka government to take criminal and disciplinary action under Section 3A/3B of the act against those responsible for allowing such violations.
It says deep vertical cuts have been made in the canal, between 2 and 18 metres, with a cement lining of only 5.5 metres, leaving large, exposed slopes prone to erosion and landslides.
According to the minutes, the monitoring committee has already recorded landslides and severe soil erosion, while inspectors have found no robust mitigation measures.
The advisory committee requested a detailed erosion control plan combining technical and vegetative methods to prevent further degradation.
About 42.3 lakh cubic meters of excavated material from the completed stretch has been dumped over about 210 hectares and another 10.77 lakh cubic meters is expected from the remaining 6 km, the report said.
The state initially proposed more than 103 hectares of forest land just for dumping this rubbish, more than 60 percent of the total forest area sought, but reduced this to 38 hectares after objections from the ministry.
The committee said such non-site specific use of forest for dumping cannot be allowed and directed the organization to find non-forest land and remove already dumped debris from the forests.
It noted that the canal alignment passes through the Marashettihalli Reserve Forest, which contains valuable species such as rosewood, teak and sandalwood and requires thousands of trees to be felled.
Inspectors warned that the design of the canal, with a width of between 28 and 60 meters and a height of up to 18 metres, could be fatal to elephants and other animals if it is not fenced or equipped with crossings.
The committee demanded a wildlife mitigation plan approved by the Chief Wildlife Inspector and steps to prevent animal casualties.
The minutes also include complaints from villagers that explosions during construction damaged nearby houses and no compensation was given.
The monitoring committee earlier noted that several conditions of previous evictions were not met and said the cumulative ecological impact on the vulnerable Western Ghats has not yet been fully assessed.
The advisory committee said no further diversion can be considered until past conditions and the committee’s directions are met.
While Karnataka described the Yettinahole project as a major drinking water project aimed at supplying water to seven drought-prone districts and filling hundreds of irrigation tanks, the FAC said such development objectives do not justify violations of forest laws or destruction of the environment.
The committee pointed out that the project’s actual ability to provide drinking water remains uncertain, especially given the performance of Phase I. The user body told the panel that avoiding forest areas or transporting mud to non-forest land would increase the project cost by about ₹300 crore and design changes to reduce forest use would add another ₹170 crore.
The commission said financial considerations cannot be an excuse for environmental violations and asked the state to explore options such as tunnels or cut-and-cover designs to minimize forest loss.
Published on November 9, 2025
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