Chheligada irrigation project moves at a snail's pace 

BERHAMPUR: Riddled with problems, the ambitious Chheligada medium irrigation project, that aims to irrigate 1,320 ha land in Gajapati and Ganjam districts, has not made much headway since its commissioning in 2005.

While rehabilitation and  resettlement have been the major roadblocks, inadequate workforce and alleged apathy of the government too contributed to the tardy progress of the project, which once operational, would supply 86.4 sq ft water daily to Berhampur city, besides contributing to power generation. 

The detailed progress of the project came to the fore through a reply to an RTI sought by BJP leader Srikant Padhy. Condemning the government for the delay, Padhy said, as per RTI reply received on January 8, out of 329.78 hectare (ha) of private land acquired for the project, compensation has been paid for only 246.7 ha, which is 74.8 per cent. Only 24 out of 175 families have been rehabilitated till now. Besides, acute staff scarcity and cost overrun have added to the project’s stalemate. As per official sources, cost of the project estimated at Rs 52.96 crore in 1999 had gone up to Rs 381.94 crore in 2012, Padhy added.

Quoting the RTI reply, Padhy said from 2005-06 till 2020-21, a sum of Rs 16,887.70 crore has already been spent on various heads for the project. In the resettlement colony at Santarapur, 24 houses for displaced persons have been completed and their families have shifted. Of the rest, 14 are almost complete while 37 are under construction. Besides, 20 families have already started cultivation for livelihood. Similarly, the rehab colony for rest of the displaced families at Babulibandha is in progress.

The RTI reply further stated that the design and drawing of dam and spillway have been received from GWC, New Delhi the estimate is nearing completion.

The State Water Resources department has awarded the tunnel work to a firm OCCL. A high level bridge has been constructed at Kuanpada to connect the adjoining areas. The target year for completion of the project has now been fixed at 2024-25. Criticising ruling party leaders, Padhy said they are hoodwinking the public.

“If the government continues to fool the public by sitting on the project, its negligence will reflect in the ensuing panchayat polls,” he said. 

The project, which envisages construction of a 250 metre long and 30 metre high dam with central spillway, was proposed to be set up over Badjhore, a tributary of Vansadhara river, near Chheligada village under R Udayagiri block of Gajapati district in 1999. Though the techno-economic approval had been issued by Central Water Commission in 2001.

The foundation stone of the project was laid in 2005 by the former Irrigation Minister Rabi Narayan Nanda who had assured that it would be completed by January 2019. Though tender was finalised in 2015 with a target to complete the project by March 2017, the project has remained in cold storage for sometime now.