Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel H.D. Kumaraswamy on Tuesday, 6 October 2026, launched a sharp attack on the Karnataka state government over the prolonged stalling of the Yettinahole drinking water project, alleging that residents of Kolar and Chikkaballapur had been strung along with repeated assurances for more than 12 years without tangible results. Speaking to journalists in Mulbagal, Kumaraswamy maintained his earlier stand that the government would fail to deliver Yettinahole water to the two districts within any of its announced timelines.

A Project Stuck in Time

Kumaraswamy recalled being present at the foundation-stone laying ceremony for the project in 2013–14 in Chikkaballapur, held in the presence of the Adichunchanagiri Mahaswamiji. At the time, he said, he had already flagged concerns about the feasibility of ensuring actual water supply to Kolar. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had, at that ceremony, reportedly assured residents that water would reach even the farthest corners of Kolar within one or two years.

More than a decade later, Kumaraswamy alleged, the project remained far from its intended outcome. He argued that laying pipelines alone was insufficient without a robust system to transport and store water — and that spending on pipelines without a guaranteed supply amounted to public expenditure without public benefit.

Shrinking Reservoir, Shrinking Accountability

The Union Minister raised pointed questions about the proposed reservoir component of the project, alleging a pattern of steady downscaling. According to Kumaraswamy, the government had initially proposed a reservoir near Devarayanadurga with a storage capacity of 10 TMC; this was subsequently reduced to 5 TMC and later further cut to 2 TMC. He said clarity on the final plan remained elusive even now, with fresh deadlines continuing to be announced without resolution.

Drought Relief, Governance Gaps, and Guarantee Schemes

Kumaraswamy broadened his critique to cover drought relief, questioning how many farmers had actually received the ₹2,500 relief announced by the state government. He alleged that since Siddaramaiah returned as Chief Minister for a second term, public discourse had been dominated by political power-sharing dynamics rather than substantive governance. He also questioned the government's own claims about the economic impact of its guarantee schemes on ordinary households.

Referring to visits by Central teams to drought-affected areas, Kumaraswamy claimed that farmers continued to face hardship and were migrating for employment, suggesting that relief announcements had not translated into adequate on-ground assistance.

Criticism of Shivakumar's Vision Plans and KGF Industrial Corridor

The minister also took aim at Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar's Vision 2037 and Vision 2047 initiatives, questioning the availability of resources to implement them. He alleged that proposals for integrated townships could inflate land values without adequately addressing local concerns — and noted that similar township proposals during his own tenure had drawn criticism, implying a double standard in the current scrutiny.

Kumaraswamy also questioned plans for an industrial corridor in KGF, seeking clarity on water availability for such projects given the unresolved supply situation in the region. He questioned the scale of investment and employment actually generated in Kolar and Chikkaballapur to date, and raised unresolved commitments — including an earlier promise to build one lakh houses during Siddaramaiah's first term and a more recent announcement regarding housing for 50,000 workers.

Milk Prices: A Proposed 'Sixth Guarantee'

On the question of milk pricing, Kumaraswamy said he did not oppose supporting dairy farmers but argued that the burden should not fall entirely on consumers. He proposed increasing the incentive paid to milk producers from ₹5 to ₹10 per litre, describing this as a potential 'sixth guarantee' — one that would benefit producers directly without pushing up retail prices for consumers.

With assembly session dates approaching and the opposition sharpening its critique across multiple policy fronts, the Karnataka government faces growing pressure to demonstrate concrete progress on the Yettinahole project and other long-pending commitments.