Shahpurkandi project nearing its completion on river Ravi
PrashantNews
At a time when the multi-purpose hydel projects in Uttarakhand are struck in procedural delays causing huge cost runs, one such project, 206 Mw Shahpurkandi, far away on the river Ravi on Punjab-Jammu and Kashmir border is nearing its completion.
The total cost of the project is Rs 2793 crore.
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi had approved implementation of Shahpurkandi Project on Ravi in 2018.
According to Union Minister of State in the PMO Dr Jitendra Singh, the Shahpurkandi dam has been declared as the national project. The project remained “held up” for more than four decades, Singh said in a tweet on X (Twitter)
“After considerable delay, the Shahpurkandi project is nearing its completion,” said a top government official.
The main purpose of this project situated near Madhopur-Lakhanpur areas bordering Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir would be to utilize the waste water of Ravi which flows to Pakistan for the irrigation of vast nearby the Indian areas and generate electricity, top officials said.
On completion of the project an Irrigation Potential of 5,000 ha in Punjab State and 32,173 ha in J&K would be created. The project is funded by the central government.
Under the Indus Water Treaty, India can use the water of the river Ravi for various purposes like irrigation and producing electricity.
Before the construction of the reservoir of the dam, some of the water of Ravi used to go waste through the MadhopurHeadworks downstream to Pakistan whereas there was requirement for the same for use in Punjab and J&K. Implementation of the project would minimise such wastage of water, the officials said.
In Uttarakhand, Song and Jamrani multipurpose projects are struck in procedural delays that have caused huge cost overruns.