Renuka Ji dam project: Construction to begin in December 2022

“The construction for the project is expected to start by December 2022 and will be completed in six years. The project will provide approximately 13.14 lakh man days of work. In line with the resettlement and rehabilitation policy, programmes to enhance the employability of the local youth will also be conducted.

The plan for Catchment Area Treatment works with a total outlay of Rs 1,60,34,25,000 has been included in the overall scheme. After commissioning of the project, one per cent of the annual revenue will be distributed to the beneficiaries in the affected area every year,” said a spokesperson of the state government.

“Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually laid the foundation of the Renuka Ji dam project from Paddal Maidan Mandi during his visit to the state on December 27, 2021. The dam site is about 40 kilometres from Nahan, near the famous Renuka Ji shrine,” the spokesperson added.

Giving the background of how the project was envisaged, the spokesperson said, “The initial investigation work to exploit the power potential of the Giri river was first carried out by the Government of Punjab in 1942. In 1964, the Government of Himachal Pradesh started weighing the feasibility of two projects, including the Renuka Ji dam project. However, the work on the other project – Giri Hydroelectric Project – started in the 1970s and was completed in due course.

“The Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the Renuka Ji dam was accepted by the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) of the Department of Water Resources in 2000 for a total price of Rs 1,224.64 crore. However, the project could not progress much owing to some reasons. The DPR of the project with an estimated cost of Rs 4,596.76 crore was again accepted by the TAC in 2015.

However, due to the non-signing of the Interstate Agreement between beneficiary states, the work on the project could not be started. After vigorous pursuance by the Government of India, the Interstate Agreement among six beneficiary states viz. Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh was signed on January 9, 2019. After the signing of the agreement, the DPR was once again accepted by the TAC of the Ministry of Jal Shakti on December 9, 2019 for Rs 6,946.99 crore. Of the projected cost, the Union government will bear 90 per cent of the expenditure.”

The project envisages the construction of a 148-metre-high rock-fill dam, among others. Once complete, it will fulfill about 40 per cent of the drinking water requirement of Delhi. The project will also generate 200 million units of energy.