Bhayandar: The Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) will provide employment to one member each of the 179 out of the total 1,163 families set to be affected by the raising of the height of the dam on Barvi river near Badlapur in Thane district.
The decision followed in response to state government directions to gram panchayats and urban local bodies including the MBMC which is one of the recipients of water supplied from the dam which is proposed to be raised to 72.60 metre from its current height of 68.60 metre.
The rehabilitation of the affected families is being carried out under the aegis of the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC).
As per directives, the civic bodies have been mandated employment to the project-affected persons (PAP) in proportion to the water they draw from the dam.
Accordingly, the MBMC will shoulder the responsibility of providing jobs to 15 percent of the PAP of the Barvi dam in its services. “A huge number of class III and IV posts to be filled via public service commission are lying vacant.
We will recruit the eligible project affected person as our permanent employees as soon as we receive the list from the MIDC. Since the administrative expenses of the corporation is well below the limits, the recruitments will not create a major dent to the treasury.
After all the twin-city not only receives water from the dam which addresses water shortage issue, the added workforce will enhance efficiency of the civic services,” said municipal commissioner Balaji Khatgaonkar.
At present, the work of increasing the height of the dam is in progress and once completed the storage capacity of water will go up to 348.48 MLD, officials said.
As against the requirement of over 225 MLD, the twin-city having a populace of more than 14 lakh has a total supply of 176 MLD provided jointly by the MIDC and STEM water supply authority. Owing to leakages, unaccounted supply and theft, the actual supply hovers at an average of 170 MLD.
By Suresh Golani
