Mandal dam clearance brings comfort space for State Govt

Stage One clearance by the Government of India for Mandal dam has provided more convenience and comfort space to the Jharkhand Government to go fast on the project, said PCCF and Chief Wildlife Warden of Jharkhand Lal Ratnakar Singh. The PMO is taking stock of the development quite regularly.

Singh said the Jharkhand Government has now reconciled to the contention of the user agency (read irrigation department) that Lat group of villages is not going to be affected by Mandal dam on its completion and hence the user agency be not pressured to work out relocation and rehabilitation of Lat group of villages.

There are 13 villages and 4,150 families in Lat group. Their resettlement was being asked for but the plea of the user agency that this Lat group of villages is not going to be affected any more by dam has been well received by the government and thus this pressure of locating and identifying land etc for this Lat group on the user agency is over reminded PCCF Singh who added that their approach is pro active and there is no room for anyone to read between the lines that PTR is raising any stumbling block in the way of this Mandal dam.

The PCCF further sounded positive for the dam when he said Kaer and Garee would not be a liability for this dam as suggested earlier that these two villages should also be pushed off but with the contention of the user agency that Kaer and Garee villages have not even a remote link to this dam so the question of their being taken off from the place is just too outlandish. Singh said there is no meaning to push forward Kaer and Garee alongside those eight villages which are to be relocated by the user agency since these eight villages face submergence.

Quite candidly PCCF said, “Tagging Lat group of 13 villages, Kaer and Garee in regard to Mandal dam would have resulted in a huge outbreak of uncertainty of this dam”.

The Mandal dam at its inception was 367 meter high. Then 15 villages were given compensation for their submergence but the villagers outwitted the then Bihar Government. They took compensation and lived where they were and now their eyes are again for compensation from Jharkhand government.

Now the height is reduced from 367 meter to 341 meter and the same 15 villages are out for compensation. Here the user agency the irrigation department has denied compensation saying once compensated cannot be compensated for the same cause here the Mandal dam.

The user agency has now labeled these 15 villages as under Nadi Ghati Pariyojna. PCCF said the contention of the user agency is not without merit and substance.

Singh said 1007.29 hectares of forest land will be diverted for the Mandal dam. A fleet of more than three lakh forty four thousand trees will be uprooted. The user agency here is to locate, identify and go for plantation on degraded forest land with same number of uprooted trees.  He said the user agency is to give extra 25 per cent of the revised compensatory afforestation.

PCCF further said a 2015 hectare of degraded forest land has been identified where will be done the compensatory afforestation. He further added the Rs 101 crore plan for site specific management is yet to be revised while sources said PTR has given a demand of Rs 567 crores in all to the user agency but since the user agency has not yet opened account for this the Government of India is withholding this fund with it.