Mangaluru : Former Union minister B Janardhana Poojary condemned the Union and the State governments for not paying heed to the environmental concerns related to Yettinahole project.

Speaking to the media persons here, he said that the both the governments are not following ‘Raja Dharma.’ Through Yettinahole project, the State government is moving ahead to destroy Dakshina Kannada district. The Centre is hand in glove with the State government with the implementation of the project.

D.V Sadananda Gowda and Moily who are from Dakshina Kannada district and both are former chief ministers of Karnataka supporting Yetthinahole project, now they are completely ignoring the people of the district and trying hard to achieve their objectives.

“The government is ready to spend Rs 13,000 crore for Yettinahole project without considering alternative possibilities. The Regional Empowered Committee of the Ministry of Environment and Forest has not visited the forest areas of Yettinahole project. The committee has not met the environmental activists and it is favouring the project,” he charged.

“Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has ignored the directions of Congress President Sonia Gandhi with regard to the implementation of Yettinahole project. Sonia Gandhi had given instructions through her political secretary Ahmed Patel that the project should not be carried out without study. Alternative projects need to be chalked out to ease the drinking water woes of the people of Kolar and Chikkaballapur, instead of damaging Western Ghats through Yettinahole project,” Poojary said.

He said that the State has 10 lakh hectares of forest land. In this, an attempt is being made to declare five lakh hectares as non-forest area.

This is against the Forest Conservation Act. The MLAs and MPs should raise voice against the destruction of forest and Western Ghats, he demanded.

Former Mayor Mahabala Maarla, T.K.Sudheer, Ramananda Poojary Bolar and others were present.