Central nod for river linking project in north Maharashtra

The project comprises three river links, nine dams, two sumps, pump houses, rising mains and tunnels, to be built at a cost of ₹7,465.29 crore

Mumbai: The empowered committee on river valley projects under the ministry of environment, forest and climate change has approved the Nar-Par-Girna River Linking Project aimed at addressing water scarcity in north Maharashtra.

Central nod for river linking project in north Maharashtra

The project comprises three river links, nine dams, two sumps, pump houses, rising mains and tunnels, to be built at a cost of ₹7,465.29 crore, according to data from the irrigation department. It will submerge 3,801.17 hectares (ha) of land, including 939.07 ha of forest land and 956.86 ha of private land that will be acquired by the state government, and displace around 2,580 people across nine villages. One village will be affected entirely while eight villages will be partially affected. The irrigation department will take over 516 houses, and the state relief and rehabilitation department and revenue department will rehabilitate affected residents.

The empowered committee on river valley projects had approved the project at its meeting held in July, though minutes of the meeting were made available only recently.

The project is designed to transfer 260.30 million cubic metres of surplus water from the Nar, Par and Auranga rivers to the parched, drought-prone Girna sub-basin in north Maharashtra, according to the minutes of the meeting. There is no national park or sanctuary in the affected zone.

The Tapi Irrigation Development Corporation will execute the project, which will provide assured irrigation to 49,516 ha of agricultural land in the Nashik and Jalgaon districts, besides water for some industries.

Prakash Misal, state irrigation secretary, said that the clearance from the union ministry’s empowered committee was a major step.

“In the next two months, we will get clearance for the Damangana-Ekdare-Godavari river link and the Damanganga-Vaitarna-Godavari river link. We will also get approval for the Ulhas-Godavari river link in a few years. In Vidarbha, we will implement the Vainganga-Nalganga river link,” Misal said.