Jalgaon: The Tapi Irrigation Development Corporation was to implement the concept of building seven balloon dams to block the flow of about eight TMC of water in the Girna River in the Jalgaon district. However, since it was realised that this matter was very costly and impractical, the concept of building balloon dams has now been shelved, and barrages will be built instead. It is said that these barrages will be built at a lower cost than balloons. Although this project of 711 crores has gone up to 1800 crores today, it is still on paper.
The distance from Girna Dam to Girna, joining the Tapi River in Jalgaon District, is 168 km. Except for four small dams, the Girna River has not been blocked anywhere in its 168 km. Seven talukas, 10 municipalities, 130 water supply schemes, and 174 villages depend on the water of the Girne for drinking water as well as for agriculture. This water is supplied from the Girne dam to quench the thirst of these villages. When the Girne flows for 168 km, it carries as much as eight TMC of water.
If this water, which flows in such a large amount, is stopped at the right place, there is a possibility that the problem of drinking water along with irrigation, will be solved to a large extent. Although this matter has been brought to the attention of the Water Resources Department from time to time for the past thirty years, the people's representatives did not take it seriously.
The issue of stopping the water of the Girne has come up since the year 2000. At that time, a proposal was made to build these balloon dams with foreign technology in Girna. It was claimed that if these balloon dams were built at seven places, a lot of water could be stored. Since these dams were very expensive, the centre refused to provide financial assistance.
Result: This balloon case did not move forward. Finally, the idea was put forward that simple barrages should be built instead of balloon dams. In November 2018, the Maharashtra Governor approved seven medium projects on the Girna River as new projects, subject to the condition of making funds available from the central government. On December 28, 2018, the state government gave administrative approval for Rs 711.15 crore, and this approval was given subject to the condition that the expenditure of Rs 100 should be met from the financial assistance available from the central government.
These proposed barrages are Mehunbare and Bahal in Chalisgaon taluka, Pandhard and Bhadgaon in Bhaugaon taluka, and Pardhade and Kurangi in Pachora taluka. and are proposed at Kanalda in Jalgaon taluka.
These seven proposed dams will have a capacity of 21.49 dalghmi. Water storage will be provided, and 4432 hectares of land will be irrigated. The revised cost of this project, approved in 2018, was Rs. 1205 crores. Today, this cost has gone up to Rs 1800 crore. However, the project is only on paper. The centre has no plan to provide 100 per cent funding for this project. Conclusion: There is doubt about how much this project will be completed.
For the last fifty years, not a single public representative thought that the water of the mill should be blocked while it was flowing. If dams had been built on the mill one by one, more than seven dams would have been built twenty years ago, and the water flowing from the mill would have also been blocked. There would have been savings in costs as well.
Sand is more important than water from the mill.
Today, the illegal sand business has flourished in the district on a large scale. There is a huge demand for sand from outside the district. The sand mafia has moved forward in the district, saying that it is a business that gives money on a large scale without capital. They have political power. This is one of the reasons for the lack of dams. After the bridge was built on the Girna River in 1972, a suggestion was made to convert the old bridge there into a dam. Some even proposed to build it, but it was not accepted. Now a new bridge is being built on the Girna.
It was suggested that this could be made as a bridge-cum-dam, but the Public Works Department did not bother to ask whether a bridge-cum-dam was possible. If this dam had been built, the water problem of North Maharashtra Vidyapee and its surroundings would have been solved. Jalgaon city could also have benefited from this. However, since the matter was not in the interest of the sand mafia, the Public Works officials went against this dam proposal.
Although stopping the eight cubic metres of water flowing from the Girne today is the district's priority, it cannot be expected from the people's representatives, as the political leaders are close to the sand mafia. It is difficult to say even today when this flowing water will be stopped.
