NEW DELHI: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today, February 1, 2023, announced a mega  grant of Rs. 5300 crore for the Upper Bhadra Irrigation Project in the poll-bound Karnataka.

The Upper Bhadra Project will make certain irrigation of nearly 2.25 lakh hectares in Chikkamagaluru, Chitradurga, Davangere, and Tumakuru districts with nearly 19 thousand million cubic feet (tmcft ) of water. The project also envisages filling up iver 350 tanks using 10.8 tmcft of water, along with augmenting the capacity of Vani Vilas reservoir.

Basavaraj Bommai, the chief minister of Karnataka, stated that measures had already been started to designate the Upper Bhadra project as a national project in April 2022. He had stated that 16,000 crore will be made available for the project once it was designated as a national undertaking.

She emphasised that the budget recommendations for this fiscal year centre on inclusive development, closing the opportunity gap, infrastructure and investment, releasing the potential, green growth, young power, and the financial sector when presenting her fifth Union Budget for 2023–24.

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