Haryana, Himachal Govts sign MoU for dam construction

| | Chandigarh
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Haryana, Himachal Govts sign MoU for dam construction

Saturday, 22 January 2022 | PNS | Chandigarh

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Governments of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh on Friday for the construction of Adi Badri Dam with an estimated cost of Rs 215.35 crore.

The dam would be built on 31.66 hectares of land in Himachal Pradesh and will store 224.58 hectare meters of water every year, of which Himachal will get 61.88 hectare meters of water and Haryana will get the remaining 162 hectare meters of water. This water will flow into Saraswati river in Haryana.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and his Himachal counterpart Jai Ram Thakur were present on the occasion at Panchkula. The Chief Secretaries of both states signed the MoU.

Khattar said that the Saraswati river, which has been extinct for many years, will be rejuvenated with the construction of Adi Badri dam. From time immemorial, religious beliefs will also be revived with the rejuvenation of Saraswati river, along with this the area will also be developed as a pilgrimage site.

Due to the construction of Adi Badri dam, 20 cusecs of water will flow continuously in the Saraswati river. With this, water will flow in Saraswati throughout the year, he said.

The Chief Minister said that there is not only a religious belief regarding the flow of Saraswati river, but  its presence underground has also been proved through satellite.  For conducting research on Saraswati river, a chair has been set up in Kurukshetra University, besides Haryana Saraswati Heritage Development Board has also been established, he said. 

Haryana Government has notified an area of 200 km from Adi Badri to Ghaggar river via Kaithal for Saraswati river.  A mention of the same can also be found in the revenue records, he added.

It was informed that the width of this dam will be 101.06 meters and the height will be 20.5 meters.

Khattar said that the objective of this project is to revive the Saraswati river as well as increasing the ground water level.  With the commissioning of the dam, the flood situation arising out of excessive rainfall during the rainy days will also be dealt with. The lake being built near it will also promote tourism.

He said that the area from Kalka to Kalesar is very important from the tourism point of view. Many religious and tourist places come in this area including Adi Badri, Lohagarh, Kapal Mochan, Mata Mantra Devi.  With the development of Lake along with the dam, many tourists will come here, which will benefit both the states, he said.

The Chief Minister further said that several projects would be worked out in collaboration with Himachal Pradesh, including the construction of a dam at the Hathnikund barrage. Along with generating electricity from this dam, the continuous flow of clean water will also become possible in the Yamuna river.  In this dam, the water flowing from the mountains to the Hathnikund barrage will be stored, so that the crops will also be saved from flood-like situations. NOC has been sought for this dam and survey work will start soon, he said.

Speaking on the occasion, Himachal Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said that Adi Badri Dam would meet the requirement of irrigation and drinking water for both states. Due to the flow of water in the Saraswati river, this area will be developed from the point of view of religion and tourism.

Thakur said that in the coming days, the foundation stone of this dam will be laid after completing all the formalities related to this project.

He said that the project would also be of immense useful for Himachal Pradesh as 3.92 hectare metre water per annum would be earmarked for the hilly state for drinking water requirement and 57.96 hectare metre for irrigation water demand of the project affected habitations.

 He said that the entire funding of the project would be arranged by the Haryana Government. Both the State Governments would be free to prepare the tourism projects as well as any other infrastructure facilities which may be required for welfare and development of local people from their own resources, without compromising primary objectives of the project, Thakur added.  HP Chief Minister informed that only 21 families of the state would be displaced and they would be properly rehabilitated. The cost of rehabilitation package for oustees and environmental protection package in accordance with prevalent policies of Himachal Pradesh as well as any other prevalent laws or any other unforeseen cost in regard to Adi Badri gam in future would be borne by Haryana Government and no liability on this account would be passed on to Himachal Pradesh, he said.

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