Key irrigation, flood-control projects get Central clearance

Lalit Mohan

Advertisement

Dharamsala, July 14

Amid widespread damage to infrastructure due to heavy rain, the Centre has given investment clearance for two major irrigation and flood-control projects in Kangra and Una districts.

Projects in Kangra and Una districts

• Union Ministry for Water Resources had given investment clearance for the Rs 643-crore Phina Singh canal project. The project was envisaged in 2011 for interlinking Kalam Nullah and Chaki river.
• The Centre had also given investment clearance for a Rs 339-crore project for flood control measures in tributaries of the Swan river in Una district.

Deputy CM Mukesh Agnihorti, who also holds the charge of Irrigation and Public Health Department, said the Union Ministry for Water Resources had given investment clearance for the Rs 643-crore Phina Singh canal project. “We expect to get Rs 200 crore as the first instalment of the Central Government’s share in the project after which the work on the project, which has been stuck for the past 10 years, will be started,” he said.

He further said that the Centre had also given investment clearance for a Rs 339-crore project for flood control measures in tributaries of the Swan river in Una district. The amount would help in completing the project of canalising the river and its tributaries, he said.

The Phina Singh project is coming up in the Nurpur area of Kangra district. The project has been hanging fire since long and its cost has escalated from the initial Rs 204 crore to Rs 643 crore.

The project was envisaged in 2011 for interlinking Kalam Nullah and Chaki river, tributaries of the Beas, flowing in the Nurpur area of Kangra district and the construction of a concrete gravity dam across the Chaki river. The water from the dam was to be carried through a 4,307 metres tunnel to irrigate an area of 4,025 hectares in 60 villages. A sum of around Rs 283.32 crore has already been spent on the project, but the progress is only about 53 per cent.

The project had not received any funds from the Centre over the past few years.

In the revised DPR, a provision has been made for the construction of a 1.88-MW hydropower project on Phina Singh Canal. The revised plan also envisages the use of the reservoir created for the project for transportation purposes.

The Swan canalisation project was a major flood project taken up in Una district. Till date, about Rs 1,100 crore has been spent on the canalisation of Swan river and its tributaries. The project was a major success as it tamed the Swan that was once called the sorrow of Una district as its caused floods during the monsoon.

Even during the recent heavy rain, no damage due to flood was witnessed in Una district due of canalisation of the river. With the Union Government sanctioning anther Rs 339 crore, the remaining work of canalising the Swan tributaries was to be completed.