Displacement Due to the Upper Krishna Irrigation Project

Abstract

In this chapter, the displacement and resettlement resulting from one of the large-scale irrigation projects in Karnataka, namely the Upper Krishna Irrigation Project (UKP) will be evaluated. The UKP, involving the construction of two major dams and reservoirs, at Narayanpur and Almatti, was initiated in the 1960s to irrigate the drought-prone area of northern Karnataka. The Narayanpur dam was constructed in a relatively flat, broad valley situated about 60 kilometres downstream from Almatti dam, which is still under construction. Narayanpur and Almatti reservoirs are linked. The irrigation potential of the Narayanpur reservoir can be fully exploited only after the completion of the Almatti dam. Together, the Narayanpur and Almatti reservoirs have displaced about 300,000 people, excluding those displaced by canals and other irrigation structures, by far the largest displacement ever caused by any project in India (Partridge 1985).