Nayagarh: People’s representatives including Zilla Parishad (ZP) members and MLAs at the second ZP general meeting here expressed concern over non-execution of Brutang irrigation project. Notably, the ambitious project has been hanging fire over years for various reasons. At the meeting, ZP chairperson Debasish Patnaik, Nayagarh MLA Arun Sahu, Ranpur MLA Satya Narayan Pradhan, Daspalla MLA Ramesh Chandra Behera, Khandapara MLA Soumyaranjan Patnaik, ZP members and district level officials of various departments discussed a host of issues like farmers’ registration, fertilizer shortage, effective measures for elephant menace in various parts, irregularities in Odagaon forest range and flood damage assessment in various pockets.
Reports said, farming and irrigation is one of the priority sectors of the state government, but the Brutang irrigation project in this district has allegedly failed to take off for years due to lack of green clearance. The dream of the farmers has suffered a jolt, as apathy of the government has pushed the project into uncertainty. The government has already spent Rs 4.99 crore towards survey and inquiry activities, but its work has not progressed beyond that. The Brutang project is aimed at irrigating 30,920 hectares of land in Daspalla, Khandapara, Nayagarh, Nuagaon and Odagaon blocks once completed. The project will benefit 7.42 lakh people of 309 villages in the district besides supplying drinking water to Nayagarh town.
In Kharif season, the project is expected to irrigate 20,970 hectares and in Rabi season 9,320 hectares. It was estimated that altogether 680 families will be displaced by the project. However, no step has been taken for displacement till date while on the other hand the government has not been able to carry out the project due to lack of environmental clearance. The project is described as the lifeline of Nayagarh district. The stage-I clearance, accorded to the project, has created concerns over submergence of a key elephant corridor.
According to environmentalists, the project will inundate a route regularly used by elephants. The order of the Ministry of Environment and Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC), granting stage-I forest clearance to the project, included some conditions intended to safeguard the wildlife such as building overpasses to allow elephants to cross the canal. The proposed submergence area is close to Baisipalli Wildlife Sanctuary. A study pointed out that both the submergence area and the canal that will connect Brutang and Kuanria reservoirs are being regularly used by elephants during their transit across the Mahanadi in summer.
In February, 2021, protesting the delay of the project, farmers and project supporters had taken out a 40-km rally from Daspalla to Nayagarh town. They had staged protests in front of the collectorate, seeking expedition in execution of the project. They also demanded provision of rehabilitation of the people identified for displacement first and to include Ranpur, Bolagarh and Begunia blocks under the project area. Locals said that the project is a 50-year old dream of the people of Nayagarh, but the dream is being sidelined.