The State Government is planning a 4,000-acre solar park in Bijapur district.

The solar park, which will come up in Mannur, will be similar to the solar farm at Charanka in Gujarat.

The Government has set a target of 18 months to complete the solar farm and will start with small capacities of 80-100 MW, and gradually increase capacity, Mr N.S. Prasanna Kumar, Managing Director of Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Ltd (KREDL), told Business Line.

At a time when the State is reeling under severe drought conditions, about 4,000 cusecs of water gets wasted everyday at the Basavasagara reservoir in Narayanapura due to the lack of maintenance of the reservoir.

The reservoir, which helps irrigate 10 lakh acres of land, has an inflow of about 10,000 cusec of water everyday. Of this, only 6,000 cusec reach the agricultural lands.

Bellary Thermal Plant may become operational in May second week

Energy Minister Shobha Karandlaje has said the State will purchase 990 MW of power to meet the demand during summer. The State is finding it difficult to purchase more power because of lack of corridors to evacuate electricity.

New Delhi National Green Tribunal has sought a reply from the ministry of environment and forest (MoEF) on a plea challenging the environmental clearance granted to Kudgi Super Thermal Power Project Stage-I (2,400 MW) in Karnataka.

A bench headed tribunal’s acting chairperson AS Naidusought MoEF's response on the plea seeking quashing of clearance granted on January 25, to the NTPC project in Bijapur.

Drinking water is being provided to 100 places in the district, including 62 villages, through 130 tankers, Deputy Commissioner Shivayogi Kalasad has said.

Presiding over a meeting of district-level officers here on Wednesday, he said that the number of places facing shortage of drinking water might increase in the coming days.

The State government has decided to supply drinking water to Bijapur and Chitradurga districts from reservoirs under the ‘Kannada Ganga’ water supply scheme in the coming days, said Minister for Law, Urban Development and Parliamentary Affairs Suresh Kumar.

Speaking with mediapersons here on Tuesday, he said this apart, the government will supply drinking water to towns and cities across the State under the scheme.

The State Government should stop misleading people with regard to completion of pending irrigation projects because it is impossible to complete the Upper Krishna Project in five years even if the Government releases Rs. 10,000 crore a year, the former MLA Shivanand Patil has said.

The Ministry of Environment & Forests has accorded environmental clearance for the Kudgi Super Thermal Power Project Stage-I (3x800 MW) of power major NTPC Ltd, which is being set up in Bijapur district of Karnataka.

The board of directors of NTPC Ltd cleared the investment proposal of Rs 15,166 crore for setting up Stage-I of the project recently. NTPC would be awarding the main plant package and taking up other infrastructure development works shortly. NTPC has sourced the 800 MW units through bulk tendering process.

State-owned power producer NTPC today said it got Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) clearance for its 2,400-Mw (3x800 MW), Stage-I Kudgi Super Thermal Power Project being set up in Bijapur district of adjoining Karnataka.

The board of directors recently cleared the investment proposal of Rs 15,166 crore for setting up the project, NTPC said in a statement here.

NTPC Ltd's first ultra-mega power project (UMPP) of 4,000 MW, coming up at Kudgi in Bijapur district of Karnataka, is all set to award contracts for the first phase of 3 by 800 MW once it secures nod from the Ministry of Environment and Forests. “The investment for the Rs 15,166-crore phase-1 project has been approved, the tenders for the project have been shortlisted. Within days, we are expecting nod from the MoEF,” Mr R. Venkateswaran, Regional Executive Director, said.