The Karnataka government has received a three-volume review report on the modernisation of the Narayanapura Right Bank Canal’s distributary canals, with Water Resources Minister N. Cheluvarayaswamy saying further investigation will be ordered based on the committee’s recommendations.
The report was submitted on Friday by a high-level committee headed by retired IAS officer S.R. Umashankar. The committee had been constituted to examine the findings of the Justice H.N. Nagamohan Das Commission, which investigated the modernisation works involving distributary canals connected to the Narayanapura Right Bank Canal in Raichur district.
Speaking after receiving the report, Cheluvarayaswamy said the Nagamohan Das Commission had recommended an investigation into the works. “Further investigation will be ordered in accordance with the recommendations of the review report submitted now,” he said, according to Prajavani.
The review committee comprised six members and one member-secretary. It was formed by the state government on August 19, 2025, to examine the commission’s report in detail and submit its own findings on the recommendations.
The original inquiry covered alleged bribery and corruption in works carried out between July 26, 2019, and March 31, 2023, across five government departments, including the Water Resources Department. As part of that broader inquiry, the commission examined the modernisation of distributary canals numbered 1 to 18 branching from the Narayanapura Right Bank Canal.
The Justice H.N. Nagamohan Das Commission submitted its report to the government on March 12, 2025. The latest review was therefore intended to scrutinise the commission’s findings before the government decided on subsequent investigative action.
The Narayanapura Right Bank Canal system is part of the state’s irrigation infrastructure, and the works under review concern the modernisation of its distributary network. The government’s decision to commission a second-level examination places the focus on how the original inquiry’s recommendations will be translated into formal investigation orders.
The minister’s statement did not disclose the specific recommendations contained in the three-volume review report, the agencies that may conduct the next investigation, or a timeline for issuing the orders. Those details are expected to emerge when the government acts on the committee’s findings.
