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Yettinahole Water Project: ₹23,251 Cr, 24.01 TMCft Water Diversion to Supply 75 Lakh People in 7 Drought-Prone Karnataka Districts

Target:UPSCMPSCSSC GATeachingPrelims HighMains MediumStatic GK Link
03 Apr 2026
~2 min
Source: The Hindu
Key Data:₹23,251.66 crore24.01 TMCft18 TMCft75 lakh people111.02 hectares527 tanks
Bodies:Visvesvaraya Jala Nigam Limited (VJNL)Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC)Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG)
Practice MCQs from today's news ▸
What This Article Covers

1.The Visvesvaraya Jala Nigam Limited (VJNL) aims to supply water from the Yettinahole project to Tumakuru district by October 2026, with full completion for Kolar and Chikkaballapur by October 2027.

2.The project cost has escalated from ₹8,323.5 crore (2012) to ₹23,251.66 crore (2023), with a cumulative expenditure of ₹18,205.55 crore as of February 2026.

3.A key examiner's angle is the discrepancy between the designed water diversion (24.01 TMCft) and the actual average availability (18 TMCft) as per rainfall data since 2017, raising questions about project feasibility.

The Big Picture
Prelims · HighMains · Medium

A major inter-basin drinking water project is nearing completion in Karnataka, aiming to divert 24.01 TMCft of water from the Western Ghats to drought-prone districts. The ₹23,251.66 crore project, first approved in 2012, is critical for water security and demonstrates large-scale infrastructure challenges involving forest land diversion, cost escalations, and hydrological assessments.

Exam Lens

Quick Exam Facts From News

Total Project Cost (2023)₹23,251.66 crore
Designed Water Diversion24.01 TMCft
Beneficiary PopulationOver 75 lakhs
Cumulative Expenditure (Feb 2026)₹18,205.55 crore
Forest Land Diversion Approved111.02 hectares
Tanks to be Filled527 tanks

1-Minute Revision

  • ›Total Project Cost (2023): ₹23,251.66 crore
  • ›Designed Water Diversion: 24.01 TMCft
  • ›Target this Data: Project cost revised to ₹23,251.66 crore in January 2023.
  • ›Target this Nodal Body: Visvesvaraya Jala Nigam Limited (VJNL) is the executing agency.
  • ›Target this Environmental Approval: MoEFCC granted stage-1 approval for diversion of 111.02 hectares of forest land.

Mastered this topic? Test your knowledge with a full MCQ quiz.

Practice exam-style questions, track your score, and strengthen your recall.

Q1Static LinkageEasy

Which constitutional body had earlier raised questions about the water availability calculations for the Yettinahole project?

Q2Statement-basedHard

Consider the following statements regarding the Yettinahole Drinking Water Project:

1. It aims to divert 24.01 TMCft of water from streams in the Western Ghats during the monsoon.

2. The project was first approved by the Karnataka government in the year 2014.

3. As per recent rainfall data, the average water availability from the streams is 18 TMCft.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Q3Data-centricMedium

According to the article, what is the cumulative expenditure on the Yettinahole project as of the end of February 2026?

Q4Application/ImpactMedium

What is the primary stated purpose of the Yettinahole Drinking Water Project?

All 25 MCQs ▸
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