Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar ordered an immediate survey to clear the encroachments and erect stones to demarcate the boundary of the KRS backwater areas. | Photo credit: File photo
The state government has issued instructions to officials to immediately survey the stagnant areas of the KRS reservoir and take necessary action to remove the alleged encroachments.
The government directive, issued on the instructions of Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, who is also the Minister for Water Resources, cites a complaint by Srirangapatna MLA AB Ramesh Bandisidde Gowda and MLC Dinesh Gooli Gowda regarding the increasing number of encroachments on stagnant areas of the KRS reservoir and the need for their immediate removal.
Accordingly, Mr. Shivakumar ordered that a survey be carried out immediately, that the encroachments be removed and that stones be erected to demarcate the boundary of the backwater areas of the KRS.
A team led by Deputy Commissioner of Pandavapura Sub-Division has been constituted to verify the records, carry out spot inspection, prepare a map and submit a detailed report within 15 days.
The team also includes Deputy Director of Land Records Mandya, Executive Engineer of Cauvery Neeravari Nigam Limited, Srirangapatna, tahsildars of Srirangapatna and Pandavapura taluks and Deputy Director of Land Records of Srirangapanta and Pandavapura taluks.
Mr. Bandisidde Gowda and Mr. Gooli Gowda, in their recent letter to the Deputy Chief Minister, said that the KRS tank, built between 1911 and 1931, is 2,621 meters long and 111 feet wide at the base. It is 130 feet tall.
The reservoir has a total storage capacity of 49,452 tmcft and the water spread covers 130 km2 with a circumference of 320 km.
The reservoir provides irrigation facilities to about 2.76 lakh hectares of command area in Mandya and Mysuru district, besides supplying drinking water to Mysuru city, Bengaluru and other cities while supplying water to power units, the paper said.
Standing water
The backwater area of the KRS reservoir covers 26,640 acres, the duo said, pointing out that encroachment has been observed in these areas.
The two legislators alleged that landowners adjacent to the reservoir were encroaching on government land on a daily basis in the stagnant areas of Srirangapatna, Pandavapura and KR Pet taluk of Mandya district and KR Nagar and Hunsur taluk of Mysuru district. They claimed that luxury resorts and buildings are increasing in the backwaters.
Such an intervention will reduce the storage capacity of the reservoir, adversely affect the irrigation of thousands of acres of agricultural land in the terminal areas in Malavalli and Maddur taluks and also cause drinking water shortage in these areas, they said while seeking a joint survey of the areas.
Published – 12 Nov 2025 20:43 IST
