The Uttarakhand Planning Commission has prepared a Rs 800-crore development plan to rejuvenate the highly polluted Rispana and Bindal rivers. The plan is proposed to link the two rivers with the Rs 4,000-crore Lakhwar hydel project.
With the Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam (UJVN) developing the 300-megawatt (Mw) multipurpose Lakhwar project on the river Yamuna in Dehradun district, the planning commission has also chalked out plans for developing a Rs 200-crore drinking water network from the dam to fulfill the growing water needs of the city.
The Lakhwar project, where an investment of nearly Rs 4,000 crore is needed, is awaiting the final investment clearance from the Centre.
The project will also provide irrigation and drinking water to Delhi and other northern states such as Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. The project was transferred from National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) to UJVN in 2010 and has also been declared as a national project.
Lakhwar would provide 330 million cubic metres of drinking water. The project would also irrigate 31,923 hectares of land in these states. Delhi and Rajasthan have already given their acceptance to share the cost of the project. It would be constructed by UJVN at an estimated cost of Rs 3,966 crore.
Ram Kumar, advisor, state Planning Commission, told Business Standard the water can be brought through gravity tunnel of about 21 km length from Lakhwar project to Dehradun city, which is facing acute water shortage especially during summers. The total cost of constructing such a tunnel will be Rs 200 crore.
Once the tunnel is built, the water can be put in Rispana and Bindal which, in turn, will also help in rejuvenating the two rivers causing enormous pollution in Ganga. "We can remove encroachments and beautify the area along the two rivers," Kumar said.
Harspati Unniyal, an advisor to the planning commission, said: "Currently, domestic water requirement of Dehradun town is met through perennial rivers in the adjoining area and ground water. These sources are on the verge of depletion and Lakhwar project can be highly beneficial for Dehradun."
