How Tapti river project is a boon for MP, Maharashtra
Madhya Pradesh chief minister Mohan Yadav and his Maharashtra counterpart Devendra Fadnavis, on May 11, inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the two states to jointly implement the Tapti Basin Mega Recharge Project, considered critical for meeting drinking and irrigation water requirements of both regions.The Madhya Pradesh government claims the Tapti Basin project will be the biggest groundwater recharge initiative in the world. This is also the third project of Madhya Pradesh with neighbouring states, the other two being the Ken-Betwa river-linking project with Uttar Pradesh, aimed for mitigating water scarcity in Bundelkhand; and the Parbati-Kalisindh-Chambal Project with Rajasthan.advertisementThe project will enable use of the Tapti, which originates in Betul district of the state and flows westwards before draining into the Arabian Sea, for meeting drinking water needs of towns and cities in Maharashtra, chiefly Nagpur. It will also boost irrigation in both Maharashtra (Akola, Buldhana, Jalgaon and Amravati districts) and Madhya Pradesh (Khandwa and Burhanpur districts).The project, it is claimed, will not inflict displacement of any population. Estimated to cost Rs 19,244 crore, both states will be working to get it declared as an inter-state project, which will help secure financing from the Centre. The permanent irrigation spread area in Madhya Pradesh is expected to be 123,000 hectares while in Maharashtra it will be 234,000 hectares. Water utilisation will be to the tune of 31.13 thousand million cubic feet—11.76 thousand million cubic feet in Madhya Pradesh and 19.36 thousand million cubic feet in Maharashtra.advertisement
How will the project recharge groundwater? Experts say that using a network of canals and weirs constructed under the project, a line running parallel to the Tapti river would receive water, thereby recharging groundwater in the region. The line along the Tapti Valley, where the recharge is to take place, is a bajada zone, or a gently sloped depositional plane found in arid or semi-arid areas formed by flow of streams. The exploitation of this natural feature is central to the recharging initiative.Subscribe to India Today Magazine
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