Tewari flags declining capacity of dams in Punjab, Himachal

Congress MP Manish Tewari has expressed concern over falling water storage capacity in dams of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana in Parliament, and asked whether the Centre had undertaken any de-silting activity to improve the situation.

In an unstarred question to the Jal Shakti ministry, the Chandigarh MP said that the Bhakra dam had lost 26.02 per cent of its original capacity, Nangal Dam had lost 24.66 per cent of its original capacity and Perch Dam in the Kharar Assembly constituency of Sri Anandpur Sahib had lost close to 100 per cent of its capacity.

In its reply, the government passed the buck on the state governments, saying operation and maintenance of dams was the responsibility of states.

Minister of State for Jal Shakti Raj Bhushan Choudhary, in response to Tewari's question, said water being a state subject; planning, execution, operation and maintenance of water resources projects were carried out by the state governments from their own resources and as per their own requirements and priority.

Under the ongoing externally funded Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP), provision had been made for de-siltation of selected dams. At present, the Punjab Water Resources Department and the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) are the implementing agencies under DRIP-II & III, whereas Haryana and Himachal Pradesh are not part of this scheme.

The Government of Punjab has conveyed that it has undertaken the de-siltation of 13 dams located in the Kandi area using its own financial resources. At present, de-siltation works are in progress at four dams namely Chohal, Siswan, Saleran and Thana.

For the remaining nine dams, the Government of Punjab has submitted proposals to the Government of India seeking forest clearance, the junior minister said in the reply.

The Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) has, till date, not initiated de-siltation activities in its two major storage reservoirs, namely the Bhakra and Pong dams. However, the BBMB has contemplated a pilot project for de-siltation of the Bhakra reservoir under the DRIP Phase-II & III scheme, the reply added.

In Himachal Pradesh, most dam-owning agencies undertake silt removal from reservoirs through periodic flushing operations, carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Operation & Maintenance (O&M) Manual, typically during the monsoon season, the minister said.