What Happened After A Project Delayed By 53 Years Came Up For Review Before PM Modi? Exclusive
The project in focus was the North Koel Reservoir Project, split across Bihar and Jharkhand. It began in 1972 under the government of the undivided state and is not yet complete
How long can a vital project be delayed? Going by the case of a reservoir project in undivided Bihar that recently came up before Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a review, the delay can be as long as 53 years.
The project in focus was the North Koel Reservoir Project, now split across Bihar and Jharkhand. It was started in 1972 by the state government and is not yet complete. Modi took up the project for a review along with some others and had a telling observation to make.
'It was underscored that delays in project execution come at the dual cost of escalating financial outlays and denying citizens timely access to essential services and infrastructure. It was urged to officials, both at the central and state levels, to adopt a results-driven approach to translate opportunity into improving lives," the minutes of the meeting noted.
This project, once complete, will provide additional annual irrigation to 42,301 hectares in four drought-prone districts of Jharkhand and Bihar.
WHAT IS THE NORTH KOEL RESERVOIR PROJECT?
The North Koel Reservoir project is a major interstate irrigation project with a command area lying in Bihar and Jharkhand.
It comprises a dam on North Koel river near Kutku village (Latehar district in Jharkhand), a barrage 96-km downstream of the dam (at Mohammadganj in Palamu district of Jharkhand), right main canal (RMC) and left main canal (LMC) taking off from the barrage.
The construction of the dam and ancillary activities began in 1972, undertaken by the then Bihar government from its own resources. But the work was stopped in 1993 by the forest department.
Due to apprehension that water accumulated in the dam would threaten the Betla National Park and Palamu Tiger Reserve, the work on the dam came to a standstill.
The project, after the work stopped, was providing annual irrigation to 71,720 hectares. After bifurcation of Bihar in November 2000, the head works – dam and barrage – lie in Jharkhand. Also, the entire 11.89-km LMC from Mohammadganj barrage lies in Jharkhand. Out of 110.44 km of the RMC, the first 31.4 km lie in Jharkhand and the rest 79.04 km lie in Bihar.
MODI GOVERNMENT INTERVENED IN 2016
In 2016, the Modi government at the Centre decided to help with completion of balance works of the North Koel Reservoir project to realise its envisaged benefits.
It was decided that the reservoir level will be reduced to save the core area of Palamu Tiger Reserve. The proposal to complete the balance works of the project at an estimated expenditure of Rs 1,622.27 crore was approved by the Union cabinet in August 2017.
The department of water resources, river development and Ganga rejuvenation, ministry of jal shakti was given the approval to complete the balance works of the North Koel Reservoir project at a revised cost of Rs 2,430.76 crore.
Subsequently, at the request of both state governments, certain other components were found necessary to be included in the project.
Complete lining of the RMC and LMC was regarded as essential from technical considerations to derive envisaged irrigation potential. Thus, the works of Gaya distribution system, lining of RMC and LMC, remodelling of enroute structures, construction of some new structures and one-time special package for R&R of project affected families (PAF) were to be provided for in the updated cost estimates.
Accordingly, the revised cost estimate of the project was prepared. Out of the cost of balance works of Rs 2,430.76 crore, the central government would provide Rs 1,836.41 crore. The project is now being accelerated for quick completion after the Prime Minister's review.
view comments
Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
20 minutes ago
- Time of India
Three litigants fined in land ceiling case against govt
Patna: The Patna high court imposed a cost of Rs 25,000 on three people who engaged in a legal battle of a land ceiling case against the state govt for 50 years without any evidence of ownership of their claimed lands. A single bench of Justice Rajiv Roy, while dismissing the writ petition of one Ashok Kumar Tiwary and his two siblings, ordered the litigants to deposit the cost amount in the office of Bihar Legal Services Authority (BALSA) within four weeks. The judgment was delivered on July 10, but it came in the public domain after being uploaded on HC website on Tuesday. The matter relates to the initiation of three land ceiling cases in 1975-76 over 2,100 acres of agricultural land of a landlord named Shatrumardan Shahi of West Champaran district. The three petitioners were purported purchasers of six bighas of land from the son of the landlord. Despite repeated demands made by every court and forum in the last 50 years, they could not furnish a single copy of their sale deed, which was allegedly executed on June 23, 1970. Even the mutation of land was done 25 years after the alleged sale of land. Justice Roy found that these litigants initiated an endless legal battle only to hoodwink the revenue authorities. The sole motive of such litigants was to delay and defeat the purpose of land reform laws of Bihar, whereby surplus lands of landlords (exceeding the area of the ceiling limit) have been acquired by the govt and distributed among landless or marginal farmers, he remarked.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
24 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Rao's reforms enabled coalition govts to deliver better results: Naidu
Describing former Prime Minister (PM) P V Narasimha Rao as 'India's Deng Xiaoping', Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister (CM) N Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday said the economic reforms unveiled by the Rao-led minority government in 1991 were the reason India's coalition governments delivered better results than those with clear majorities. The Andhra CM is on a two-day visit to the national capital, where he is scheduled to meet PM Narendra Modi, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and others. He met Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday. In his meetings with the PM and Union ministers, Naidu will seek the Centre's support for projects in his state, release of pending funds, the Polavaram–Banakacherla river-linking project, and issues related to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) sources said. On Tuesday evening, Naidu delivered a lecture on 'The Life and Legacy of P V Narasimha Rao' at the Prime Ministers Museum and Library (PMML) in the national capital. His lecture was the sixth in the PMML-organised Prime Ministers Lecture Series. He described Rao as a 'true Telugu bidda', or Telugu son of the soil, who 'reshaped the destiny' of India, and said the Telugu community is proud of his contributions. Rao, who passed away in December 2004, was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna in 2024. Referring to the recent controversy over some states accusing the Centre of imposing Hindi, Naidu said Rao had mastered 17 languages and serves as an inspiration in the current context. The Andhra CM said Rao, despite leading a minority government, accomplished the near-impossible task of forging consensus on economic reforms among socialists, communists, and capitalists alike. Naidu credited Rao's prime ministerial tenure, and subsequently that of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, for India's first-mover advantage in the information technology sector and for building world-class infrastructure, especially in roads and telecommunications. Naidu said that in 1978, when Deng launched China's economic reforms, both India and China were $140 billion economies, while the US economy was 15x larger at $2.3 trillion. Now, the US economy is only 1.5x bigger than China's, and more than 7x bigger than India's. 'They (China) are catching up (with the US). We are behind,' Naidu said, stressing that the journey from being the world's fourth- or third-largest economy to one of the top two will be much more challenging. Naidu said 2014 was a turning point in India's growth story, with the country getting Modi as PM, who has 'ushered in a new era of bold and decisive leadership'. He said the goal is not just to grow fast, but to grow fairly, where every citizen, every region, and every sector shares the fruit of progress. Citing World Bank data, he said India is among the top four most income-equal countries but stressed that the country still needs to become more equitable. He urged the top 10 per cent of India's wealthy to uplift the bottom 20 per cent, appealing to them to follow tech billionaire Bill Gates' example and 'give back to society'. On his vision for Andhra, Naidu spoke about his government's Quantum Valley initiative in Amaravati. He urged youth to join politics and said the TDP's parliamentary party is the youngest in the Lok Sabha. He also noted that TDP's representative in the Union Cabinet, Civil Aviation Minister K Ram Mohan Naidu, is the youngest minister at the Centre. During his visit to Delhi, Naidu and Telangana CM A Revanth Reddy are also scheduled to attend a meeting on water issues being facilitated by the Centre on Wednesday. The Telangana government is expected to press the Centre to grant approvals and funds for its long-pending projects. It had earlier conveyed its objection to the Centre regarding Andhra's Banakacherla river-linking project, saying that it hurts Telangana's interests.
Time of India
34 minutes ago
- Time of India
Shipwrecks: Kerala high court admits former MP's plea seeking comprehensive compensation package
Kochi: High court on Tuesday admitted the petitions filed by former MP T N Prathapan and others, who have sought a comprehensive compensation package for fishermen and other stakeholders affected by the recent shipwrecks off the Kerala coast and adjourned the matter to Sept 8. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The bench of Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar and Justice Basant Balaji adjourned the matter following a submission by advocate general K Gopalakrishna Kurup that an admiralty suit has been filed to recover maritime claims amounting to Rs 9,531 crore for the environmental and economic damage caused by the sinking of the cargo vessel MSC Elsa 3 on May 25. The copies of the suit and the order of interim arrest issued by the single bench on July 7 have been produced. MSC Akiteta II, the sister vessel of MSC Elsa 3, has been arrested on the order of the single bench. The division bench then noted that the issue of monetary claims against the shipping company, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), is currently being considered by the single bench in the admiralty suit. The petitioners contended that aside from the monetary claim, there are other issues relating to the duties and responsibilities of the state authorities, pollution control board and director general of shipping, which still need judicial consideration. The division bench granted liberty to the petitioners to approach court with an application if any such urgent intervention is required. Meanwhile, MSC clarified that the removal of the wrecks, a relief sought by the petitioners, is planned for Aug as the current weather conditions do not permit deep-sea operations.
