Karnataka strongly opposes Maharashtra's Krishna-Bhima river diversion scheme

According to The Hindu report, Karnataka will raise a strong objection against Maharashtra's Krishna river water diversion scheme as it will harm Karnataka's interests. Vijayapura district in-charge minister and heavy and medium industries minister M.B. Patil made this announcement while interacting with reporters in Vijayapura on Sunday.

Stating that Patil had earlier served as the irrigation minister, he said that Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has announced a scheme to divert about 40 TMCft of water from the Krishna river into the Bhima river. This is completely unacceptable and the proposed scheme will cause serious damage to Karnataka's interests, so we will object to it.

Seeking clarification from the Central government on two issues for this initiative, Patil questioned on what basis the Maharashtra government is taking this project forward, as it falls outside the scope of the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal-II (KWDT-II) award, and how Maharashtra managed to get financial assistance from the World Bank for this initiative?

Chief Minister Fadnavis had spoken about the scheme to divert Krishna's water near Mahabaleshwar into the Ujjani dam on the Bhima river. Its objective was to supply water to the districts of Marathwada as well as parts of Sangli and Solapur districts. He had also claimed that work on the project has already started and the World Bank is providing financial assistance for it. Minister Patil also showed a video clip of Chief Minister Fadnavis speaking on this issue.

Minister Patil stated that this scheme is likely to alter the water flow pattern within the upper Krishna sub-basin, potentially affecting the volume of water reaching the Almatti reservoir. This raises concerns about the adverse impacts of the proposed project on water availability not only for Karnataka but also for other downstream states. The minister emphasized that undertaking such projects unilaterally without considering the tribunal's award on water-sharing or the established rights of the states is detrimental to the interests of the federal system.

Stating that an all-party meeting will soon be convened under the leadership of the Chief Minister to discuss this issue, he said that we will stand together on such serious matters and a united, non-partisan stance will be adopted to protect the state's interests. According to Minister Patil, as per our information, the Maharashtra government had approved ₹24 crore in July 2026 for the preparation of the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for this project. Preparations are underway to conduct a geological survey over an 84 km stretch. The DPR is expected to be ready by the end of 2026 and the estimated cost for this project is around ₹19,000 crore.

However, in light of the award given by the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal-2 and the legal obligations regarding river water allocation, this project raises several questions. Besides the 2,130 TMCft of water available based on 75% dependability, the tribunal has allocated an additional 448 TMCft of water calculated on the basis of 65% dependability and average availability. Out of this surplus water, 81 TMCft has been allocated to Maharashtra, 173 TMCft to Karnataka and 194 TMCft to the then undivided Andhra Pradesh. According to Clause XVI of the tribunal's award, the competent authority has the provision to review or modify the water allocation order at any time after May 31, 2050, the minister said.