654 dams to be given facelift with World Bank aid

Bhopal, May 26 :As many as 654 minor dams in 30 districts will be given a facelift through the World Bank-aided Madhya Pradesh Water Sector Restructuring Project costing about Rs 1919 crore.

Renovation work to be completed in six years will help restore full capacity as these dams, constructed prior to 1986, are irrigating just half of its capacity, official sources said. The World Bank had already approved modernisation of 25 dams.

In the first phase, 15 dams and its canals falling under the Betwa river basin in Bhopal, Chhatarpur and Tikamgarh districts would be renovated at a cost of Rs 7.72 crore.

This include ten dams in Chhatarpur district, two in Tikamgarh district and three in Bhopal district. Renovation will help increase water collection and provide irrigation upto the tail end.

Kerwa dam near the state capital will also be renovated in the first phase at a cost of Rs 3 crore.

In the command area of the renovated dams, the farmers will be motivated to go in for horticulture, animal husbandry and fisheries along with agriculture to increase their source of income.

UNI