Principal Secretary I&FC inspects Shahpur Kandi dam project

Asks stakeholders to remove bottlenecks, expedite works

KATHUA, APRIL 6: Principal Secretary, Irrigation & Flood Control (I&FC), Ashok Kumar Parmar, today visited Shahpur Kandi dam project to take stock of ongoing works there.

He held detailed deliberations with the stakeholders from Punjab and Kathua administration.

Principal Secretary inspected construction site of Shahpur Kandi project where he was briefed by the engineers from Punjab government about the progress made so far. He also displayed the site plan exhibiting the proposed channelization of River Ravi towards Jammu and Kashmir.

Later, Principal Secretary convened a meeting with District Development Commission Chairperson, Kathua, Mahan Singh, Deputy Commissioner, Kathua, Rahul Yadav, MD Forest Development Corporation, Chief Engineer I&FC/RTIC, Chief Engineer PWD (R&B), SE RTIC, SE Kathua, SE (Distribution) JPDCL Kathua, GM Dams and other senior officers of Project Authority.

The meeting had detailed discussion on several issues pertaining to J&K UT including raising of crest level of head regulator of hydel channel and construction of head regulators for Ravi canal besides construction of balance portion of Ravi canal and fall at confluence point, construction of aqueduct on Sukhal Khad, construction of Syphon for Kashmir canal including shifting of alignment of Lakhanpur-Basholi road.

Principal Secretary was apprised by General Manager DAMS WR Department, Shahpur Kandi Township, that 72 per cent of the works have been completed on the project saying that the project is expected to be completed by July 2023.

Principal Secretary instructed DC Kathua to resolve the issues of land acquisition and rehabilitation of land owners at the earliest so as to speed up completion of the project. He also asked the MD Forest Development Corporation regarding cutting of trees in catchment area of Ravi where proposed canal is being constructed.

Parmar directed the Managing Director FDC Jammu for taking up work on felling of trees so that construction of Ravi canal can be started at the earliest. He asked the Chief Engineer PWD to speed up construction work on Noora Bridge which falls on the Lakhanpur-Basholi road ensuring its completion before July 2023. He exhorted upon the executing agencies to remove bottlenecks, if any, in smooth execution of the project which has national importance.

DDC Chairperson also highlighted the pending issues of Dam ousters including early disbursal of pending payment of Rs 98 crore to the displaced families, maintenance of Thein to Satwain road patch falling within the jurisdiction of Ranjeet Sagar Dam authorities, employment to project affected families, relaxation in mining, posting of J&K employees in adjoining districts of the UT.

Later, Principal Secretary visited the project site to assess the factual position of the project implementation besides inspecting the water recharging of Kathua canal.

Pertinently, Rs. 2715.70 crore Shahpur kandi Dam Project would provide assured irrigation water of 1150 Cusecs to 32173 hectares of agricultural land falling in Kathua, Hiranagar, Samba and Vijaypur areas of J&K.