Kochi irri project gets possession of required land

Nagpur: Planned over a decade ago, the Kochi (Kochchhi) irrigation project, also known as Kanhan River Project, has obtained its total required land with the latest possession of 72 hectare Pench’s zudpi jungle and protected forest. The project is very crucial for the city’s drinking water supply and the district’s irrigation because of less water stored in Totladoh and Navegaon (Kamptee) khairi reservoirs.
The WRD had been pursuing for 72 hectare forest land since 2008-09 but got the clearance of the ministry of environment, forests and climate change on May 16 this year.

As of now, the state water resources department (WRD) has spent Rs507 crore out of Rs947 crore, the total cost of the project. Now the only hurdle in the project is the release of the remaining amount of Rs244 crore as the state government has allocated only Rs1 crore in current financial year. The project has to be partially completed before next monsoon — June 2019 — and completed by December next year.

City MP and Union minister for water resources Nitin Gadkari has convened a meeting on Tuesday in Mumbai with chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to discuss about the availability of remaining Rs244 crore in the current fiscal itself. Guardian minister Chandrashekar Bawankule will also be present at the meeting.

The state’s revenue and forest department issued a notification on October 8 transferring 51 hectare zudpi jungle and protected forest for the project. The land is situated in eight villages — Kochi, Pilala (Rithi), Badegaon, Kharduka, Tembhurdoh, Chorkhairi, Raiwadi and Dhalgaon (khairi) in Saoner tehsil.

WRD executive engineer P N Patil told TOI the MP government too transferred 21 hectare of forest land for the project few days ago. “Now we have the possession of entire required land of 1,485 hectare for the project. Earlier, we acquired private and government-owned lands,” he said.

Completed 65% as of now, the project will have storage capacity of 75 million meter cube (MMC) of which 57 MMC will be utilized for irrigating 4,500 hectare of agriculture land and remaining for drinking water supply to few villages, towns and Koradi thermal power project.

Coming up on Kanhan river, the project will not have any impact on availability of raw drinking water for the city.

WRD superintending engineer L P Ingale said 1,200 MMC water is available in Kanhan river. “The Kochi project will get only 75 MMC. Thus, NMC can continue to utilize its total reservation from the river,” he said.

The NMC can also get more water from Navegaon Khairi reservoir once 4,500 hectare agriculture land gets water from the Kochi project.

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