Team to be formed to expedite ambitious Mekedatu project

Bengaluru

The State government has issued an official order to form a dedicated team under the Karnataka Engineering Research Station (KERS) Director to fast-track the Mekedatu project, following the recent favourable Supreme Court verdict.

According to the Government Order (GO), the committee will function from a project office to be established in Ramanagara. The team will include a Deputy Chief Engineer, technical personnel, and administrative staff. The GO also confirms that the Mekedatu project office itself will be set up in Ramanagara to streamline coordination.

A high-level meeting on November 18, chaired by Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, had earlier decided to create a Superintending Engineer’s office exclusively for Mekedatu works. However, since staffing and administrative approvals from the Finance Department are still pending, the government has assigned the responsibility to the KERS Director temporarily.

The team to be formed will include an Executive Engineer, three technical assistants, six assistant engineers, an accountant, a superintendent, and other supporting staff.

Kaveri Neeravari Nigam Limited (KNNL) has been instructed to take steps to establish the project office and bear the administrative expenses. The KNNL Director has also been directed to hand over all relevant Mekedatu project documents to the KERS Director to enable immediate progress.