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The forest advisory committee under the environment ministry is set to take up the matter on June 30.
The ambitious Rs 3,600-crore project was aimed at providing 275 million gallons of water to Delhi every day. The dam was proposed to be built on the Giri river, a tributary of the Yamuna in Sirmaur district of Himachal Pradesh.
According to a Delhi Jal Board report, in 2010, the city's demand for water was 1,080 million gallons, but supply stood at only 845 million gallons, a shortfall of 235 million gallons.
With the ground water level depleting in the national capital, Delhi Jal Board had expressed concern on the rising demand for water here. "Ground water, the only resource available to fill the gap between drinking water requirement of the National Capital Territory and the raw water available is in a very critical condition, as the pace of ground water recharge is far behind the pace of ground water exploration. Delhi Jal Board is very concerned at the scenario of the fast-depleting ground water level in Delhi," the board had said.
It added that as Delhi's population would cross 200 million by 2021, water from the Renuka dam would be vital to meeting the rising demand.
For acquiring land for the project, the Delhi government had paid Rs 215 crore to the Himachal Pradesh government. Earlier, the entire cost of the project was to be borne by the Delhi government, but after it was declared a national project, it was decided funds for the project would be provided by the Centre.
Under the United Progressive Alliance government, the project was mired in controversy, with then environment minister Jairam Ramesh denying it a forest clearance. Ramesh overrode the forest advisory committee's grant of recommendation in October 2010. The national capital should first fix its water distribution losses of about 45 per cent, he had said, adding, "Delhi must learn to use the tougher options that are available. It cannot be a parasite on the rest of the country."
At that time, the Delhi government, under chief minister Sheila Dikshit, had pressed the Centre for reversal of the environment ministry's order.
