Dadupur-Nalvi Project:A stillborn canal
deluged 304 crore
JAG MOHAN THAKEN
Before fulfilling its dream, a canal named
Dadupur-Nalvi has been dashed by its own creater. On September , 27 in a
cabinet meeting ,the government of Haryana has de-notified the 32 years old
project of Dadupur-Nalvi canal having
already incurred an expenditure of Rs.304 crore to the state exchequer on its construction and land acquisition .
Now the decision has become a bone of contention between the government and the
farmers and has warmed up the political and societal atmosphere of the state .
The official sources reveal that the
Dadupur-Nalvi Irrigation Scheme was conceived in 1980s as an
irrigation project for the districts of Yamunanagar, Kurukshetra and
Ambala. This project was to cost Rs 13 crore and intended to release 590 cusecs
water from Yamuna by taking off a channel from Dadupur.The
consequent shortfall in Yamuna waters was to be supplemented at Munak
from surplus Ravi Beas waters after it would be available. The proposal was to
construct Shahbad Feeder, Shahbad Distributary, Nalvi Distributary and 22 other
offtaking channels. All channels were to be lined and the project was to be
completed in three years.Acquisition of this land costed Rs
75.98 crore as per the original award. Additionally Rs. 116.35
crore were paid as enhancement, as per the court orders. Thus,
till date a total of Rs 192.33 crore has been paid to land
owners for 1019.30 acres land. Apart from this, the department has also
incurred an expenditure of Rs 111.167 crore on construction of these three
channels. Thus, a total expenditure of Rs 303.497 crore has been incurred on
the scheme till date .
Replying to the Adjournment Motion in
Vidhan Sabha session ,the Chief Minister of the state ,Manohar Lal Khattar said land owners whose land had been
acquired from 2005 onwards were not satisfied with the award of lower courts
and had filed RFAs in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Chandigarh. The court
pronounced judgment on May 5, 2016 awarding compensation at the rate
of Rs 2,887 per square metre, which works out to Rs 116.83 lakh per
acre plus incidental charges. After taking interest and other charges into
account, an amount of Rs 566.49 crore has now become payable in respect of
167.27 acres of land only, which roughly comes out to Rs 3.39 crore per acre.
Chief Minister said the state had already spent more
than Rs 303 crore over the past 30 years on the scheme, which had been declared
"unfruitful" by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). On the
other hand, the farmers have lost more than 1,019 acres of fertile land which
would have given them an additional income of about Rs 6 to 7 crore per annum,
calculating the annual savings at a nominal rate of Rs 60,000-70,000 per acre.
Hailing cabinet’s decision to de-notify the
project, CM told it as a pro-farmer and progressive decision.
The Chief Minister said it paved the way for meeting the demand of such farmers
as wished to take back their lands out of the 1,019 acres acquired for an
irrigation project that was never able to irrigate even 400 acres of land. The
‘impression' of giving up on the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) Canal, is a figment
of imagination. The Chief Minister said that since no farmer would be
forced to do so, opposition to the decision is opportunistic and limited to
those who have vested interests.
But on the other hand the farmers and the
opposition parties are describing the De-notification decision of the BJP government
as anti-farmer . The former Chief Minister
of the state , Bhupinder Singh Hooda , states that Dadupur –Nalvi canal project had been a
dream project of congress and the party
would ensure the completion and
revival of the canal on coming to power . The congress party media incharge Randeep Singh Surjewala says that Dadupur
–Nalvi project is the life line of northern Haryana and declares the
de-notification process as unconstitutional .He said that the party would even
go to the President of India to plead the farmers case . Surjewala said that
the Shahbad area has already become the dark zone and if this canal is closed
the other areas of north Haryana would also go to the dark zone category soon .
He said that water table had lowered down upto a
serious level and the closure of the canal would further deteriorate the
situation . The main opposition party Indian National Lokdal’s leader in Vidhan
Sabha , Abhay Chautala also supports the dark zone point of Surjewala and says that 60 % of state’s area
is already under dark zone . He adds that on today 36 million acre feet water
is required for the state ,where as only 14 million acre feet is available . He
alleges that the decision of de-notification is totally anti-farmer and the
government should withdraw it immediately in the public interest.
Former
Chief Minister Late Chaudhary Bansi Lal’s daughter-in-law and CLP leader Smt.
Kiran Chaudhary alleged that Bansi Lal government had initiated the scheme to
meet the long pending demand of the farmers , but the present BJP government
has dashed the hope of farmers .
The aggrieved farmers of the area are
sitting on Dharna to oppose the de-notification . They are demanding that
enhanced compensation be given to the farmers in accordance with the High Court
decision and ensure completion of
Dadupur –Nalvi project as planned by the earlier governments and regular supply
of water in the canal be made for
irrigation so that water level doesn’t fall further .
All India Kisan Sabha’s state President
Master Sher Singh says “ The Prime Minister, Narender Modi ,claims to double
the income of farmers by 2022 ,whereas his own party’s Haryana Government is
closing down the irrigation projects. Is Haryana government not following the
directions of his own supremo ?”
Kisan leader demands that as the Chief
Minister himself admits an average loss of Rs.60000 to 70000 per acre annually
to the farmers due acquisition of this land for the canal .He calculates that
in the last thirty years a loss of approximately 20 lacs per acre has been
incurred to the farmers . He demands the government should pay Rs. 12 lacs per
acre out of this 20 lacs loss after adjusting the compensation amount of Rs. 8
lacs before surrendering the land to the farmers alongwith the expenditure
amount to be incurred on leveling the canal ditch by
the farmers.
The questions raised by the CLP leader Smt.
Kiran Chaudhary still require answers .
She asks , “ How the government will compensate the state exchequer having
incurred an unrecoverable loss of Rs. 304 crore on the project de-notified now
and how it will ensure to increase the crucially down falling water table of
the area after closure of the canal ?”
Can the government recover the already
paid compensation amount of Rs .192.33
crore from the debt ridden farmers of the state demanding and expecting a loan waiver
scheme ?
And how and from which source it
will compensate the huge amount of Rs.111.63 crore spent on digging and
construction of Dadupur-Nalvi canal ? The answer to both the questions is a ‘Stark No’ in the present scenario . The
only and only result is that the hard earned public revenue has been swept away
in the canal with no water . The government should rethink over the
de-notification decision and try to find an amicable solution .
===
