Overview

• The Karnataka Cabinet approved Upper Krishna Project Phase‑3 to raise Almatti’s full reservoir level from 519.6 metres to about 524.25 metres.
• The storage upgrade would lift capacity from 123.08 TMC to nearly 200 TMC, with Telangana officials warning of a 100–130 TMC drop in downstream flows that could strain multiple irrigation projects over 27.4 lakh acres.
• Karnataka leaders say the plan aligns with the 2013 tribunal award and targets only “excess water flowing into the sea.”
• The project involves acquiring about 1.33 lakh acres at an estimated cost of roughly Rs 70,000 crore, with compensation set at Rs 25–40 lakh per acre and reports of village submergence.
• Telangana opposition figures, including KT Rama Rao and B Vinod Kumar, demanded urgent court action before KWDT‑II hearings open in New Delhi on September 23.