Drinking water project to quench Dehradun's thirst

It is a multipurpose project, which would also provide irrigation and drinking water facilities to Delhi and other northern states such as Rajasthan, Haryana and UP

With the Uttarakhand government keen on constructing the 300 Mw multipurpose Lakhwar project on the river Yamuna, the state Planning Commission has come up with a project for developing a Rs 351-crore drinking water network from the dam. This will fulfil the growing water needs of Dehradun.

The Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) of the Central Water Commission (CWC) had last year given its clearance to the Lakhwar project in Dehradun.

Unlike the hydel project controversy surrounding the river Ganga, the projects on the river Yamuna have so far remained away from the eyes of environmentalists and religious leaders. 

Lakhwar is a multipurpose project, which would also provide irrigation and drinking water facilities to Delhi and other northern states like Rajasthan, Haryana and neighbouring Uttar Pradesh. It would also provide 330 MCM of drinking water from its dam. The project would also irrigate a total of 31,923 hectare of land in these states. Delhi and Rajsthan have already given their acceptance to share the cost of the project.

The project would be constructed by the Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd. at an estimated cost of Rs 3,966 crore, of which the Centre would provide Rs 2,578 crore and the remaining Rs 1,388 crore would be invested by the state government.  The project, to be completed in four years, would be capable of irrigating 39,123 hectares of land.

A top government official told Business Standard that the water can be brought through gravity tunnel of about 21 km length from Lakhwar project to Dehradun city, which faces acute water shortage, especially during summers.

The total cost of constructing such a tunnel would be Rs 231 core and the remaining Rs 120 crore would be spent on appurtenant works, water treatment and distribution networks, said Harshpati Unniyal, advisor to the state Planning Commission.

Unniyal, a former chief general manager of the Jal Sansthan, the nodal agency for water distribution in the state, said the project report has already been submitted to the government for further action.

“At present domestic water requirement of Dehradun town is met through perennial rivers in the adjoining areas and the ground water. These sources are on the verge of depletion and Lakhwar project can be highly beneficial for the city of Dehradun,” said Unniyal.

But the power department has not shown much enthusiasm in the project. “Lakhwar is a national project and only the Centre can take a final decision regarding the drinking water project,” said a senior government official.