Khadakpurna river project given one year extension

New Delhi: India's Planning Commission has approved extension of time period for completion of Khadakpurna Irrigation Project in Sindkhed Raja tehsil of Buldana district in Maharashtra by one year. 

The Maharashtra government had earlier requested the Planning Commission to extend the time period of completion of the irrigation project from March 2012 to March 2013. The extension was requested due to the land acquisition and rehabilitation and resettlement issues.

The state has also signed a MoU with the Ministry of Water Resources for availing the Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme assistance in the extended period and in the MoU they have agreed for completing the project during the extended period within the cost of Rs 917.95 cr for which the investment clearance has been accorded by the Planning Commission.

The secretary to Ministry of Water Resources who is also the Chairman of the Advisory Committee of Ministry of Water Resources for the Irrigation, flood control and Command Area Development and Water Management Projects has also agreed for the extension of time period of one year.

Khadakpurna River Project

The ambitious irrigation project promises to provide irrigation to 18,000 hectares land and drinking water to four parched tehsils in one of the most backward districts of the Vidarbha region.

Khadakpurna Irrigation Project is one of the ten major irrigation projects in Vidarbha, handed over to the VIDC. The project based on the Khadakpurna river was granted administrative clearance in 1989. The project is to benefit 18,000 hectares of farming land in Sindkhed Raja, Deulgaon Raja, Chikhli and Mehkar talukas and also promises to provide drinking water to these parched areas.

Originally estimated to cost Rs 83 crore, the cost escalated to Rs 178 crore in 1997, when it was taken over by the VIDC. The current cost of the project is estimated at around Rs 200 crore.

Interestingly, the project does not face the usual problems associated with any major irrigation project. The project involves complete submergence and thus displacement of only six villages, while 53 villages - 40 in Deulgaon Raja and 13 in Sindkhed Raja.