River Krishna, the second largest river in Peninsular India, originates at an altitude of 4385 feet above mean sea level in the Western Ghats of Maharastra State. After traversing 304 kms. It enters Karnataka and flow for 290 kms before entering Andhara Pradesh and flowing on there after into the Bay of Bengal. The drainage area of the Krishna basin is 2.95 lakh sq.kms out of which 26.8% is in Maharastra, 29.4% is in Andhara Pradesh and remaining 43.8% is in Karnataka. Its main tributes are the Bhima, Ghataprabha, Malaprabha, Tungabhadra, and Vedvathi. The estimated irrigation potential of the river in Karnataka is 30-lakh hectare.

The cultivation in Karnataka is very vulnerable to the vagaries of the monsoon. The farmers are dependent timely, consistent and spread rainfall for good yields from there land. When the monsoon fails their life becomes misery. This why irrigation plays a vital role in bringing a better life to the farmers. Agriculture being the mainstay of the people in the Krishna Basin area, the irrigation projects plays a vital role in ushering prosperity to the region.

A total of 28 major & medium irrigation projects have been taken up for execution in the Krishna Basin and is expected to create irrigation potential of 18.49 lakh hectares, of which only 9.02 lakh hectares are actually been realised upto end of march 1999. Out of the 28 projects, 17 projects are in the initial stages of implementation and are yet to contribute to the irrigation potential. Therefore, a lot of work is yet to be done to utilise the large irrigation potential of river Krishna in Karnataka.

The state government has been engaged in executing major and medium irrigation projects of the Krishna basin through irrigation department. A host of problems such as inadequacy of funds, land accusation and rehabilitation problems delayed clearance from various authorities as also interstate riparian disputes resulted in the slow pace of implementation of these projects and delay in utilisation of the benefits of irrigation.

KNNL was incorporated in December 1998 under the companies Act, as a wholly owned company of the Government of Karnataka, primarily to expedite the completion of the ongoing irrigation projects in the Krishna Valley. This is second such company in the state, the first being Krishna Bhagya Jala Nigam Limited (KBJNL) which was being incorporated in 1994 to complete the upper Krishna Project.