The State government issued directions to officials to immediately conduct a survey in the backwater areas of KRS reservoir and take necessary actions to clear the alleged encroachments.
The government’s directions, issued on the instructions of Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, who is also the Minister for Water Resources, cite a complaint by Srirangapatna MLA A.B. Ramesh Bandisiddegowda and MLC Dinesh Gooligowda regarding the increasing number of encroachment cases in the backwater areas of KRS reservoir and the need for their immediate removal.
Accordingly, Mr. Shivakumar has directed that a survey be conducted immediately so that the encroachments are removed and the stones be erected to demarcate the boundary of KRS backwater areas.
A team headed by Assistant Commissioner of Pandavapura Sub Division has been constituted to verify the records, conduct an on-site inspection, prepare a map and submit a detailed report within 15 days.
The team also comprises Deputy Director of Land Records, Mandya, Executive Engineer of Cauvery Neeravari Nigam Limited, Srirangapatna, tahsildars of Srirangapatna and Pandavapura taluks, and the Assistant Director of Land Records of Srirangapanta and Pandavapura taluks.
Mr. Bandisiddegowda and Mr. Gooligowda, in their recent letter to the Deputy Chief Minister, said KRS reservoir, built between 1911 and 1931, is 2,621 metres long and 111 feet wide at the base. It is 130 feet tall.
The reservoir has a total storage capacity of 49.452 tmc and the water spread covers 130 sq. km with a perimeter of 320 km.
The reservoir provides irrigation facilities to about 2.76 lakh acres of command area in Mandya and Mysuru district, besides supplying drinking water to Mysuru city, Bengaluru, and other towns while also providing water to power generation units, the letter said.
Backwaters
The backwater area of KRS reservoir covers 26,640 acres, the duo said while pointing out that it has been observed that encroachments had occurred in these areas.
The two legislators alleged that landowners adjoining the reservoir were encroaching, by the day, upon government land in the backwater zones of Srirangapatna, Pandavapura, and K.R. Pet taluk of Mandya district and K.R. Nagar and Hunsur taluks of Mysuru district. Luxury resorts and constructions were increasing in the backwater regions, they alleged.
Such an encroachment will reduce the storage capacity of the reservoir, adversely affecting the irrigation to thousands of acres of agricultural land in tail-end areas in Malavalli and Maddur taluks, while also creating drinking water shortages in these areas, they said while seeking a joint survey of the areas.
Published – November 12, 2025 08:43 pm IST
