Mangaluru: Chief Secretary Subhash Chandra Khuntia will conduct a meeting on January 9 to decide about the compensation amount to be given to owners whose land will be submerged by impounding water at new vented dam at Thumbe to the maximum level, according to Mayor Harinath.

The meeting would be attended by B. Ramanath Rai, Minister in-charge of Dakshina Kannada, the Mayor, officials and others, he said.

Addressing presspersons here on Wednesday, the Mayor said that it has been planned to store water up to seven mts high in the dam during the 2018 summer. According to the preliminary estimate, 371 acres would be submerged by doing so. The number of persons whose land would be submerged is being gathered.

According to engineers, if water was stored to the maximum level, it would suffice for three months’ supply to the city with zero inflow in the Netravati. If compensation was paid to the land losers, it would be a permanent solution and the civic body could store water up to the maximum level in the coming days.

The Mayor said that now water has been stored at the dam up to the five mts level. With this, 18 acres of private land of 14 persons have submerged.

The civic body would pay them ₹ 16.25 lakh as ground rent. Of them, eight persons have been given ₹ 2.81 lakh as ground rent for a year now. The remaining persons would be given the amount shortly.

To a question, the Mayor said that the civic body would reserve ₹ 10 crore from the second phase grant from the Asian Development Bank loan to the corporation to supply treated water to people of four gram panchayats en route from Thumbe to Padil.

They would be supplied with treated water by installing water treatment plants in the jurisdiction of Thumbe, Arkula, Adyar and Pudu GPs. Once the supply starts, the respective GPs would have to pay monthly bill to the corporation. They would be supplied water from the existing 2 MGD (million gallons a day) capacity pipeline between Thumbe and Padil.

Shashidhar Hegde M, whip in the council, was present on the occasion.