Keonjhar: Uncertainty loomed large over the ongoing Kanpur irrigation project work in Keonjhar district due to alleged government apathy while resentment brewed among locals over the inordinate delay in its completion.
Problems in land acquisition, resettlement and rehabilitation (R&R) of displaced people are said to be the major bottlenecks in the project. Even after 40 years, the ambitious project being built across the river Baitarani seems nowhere near completion.
The project is expected to irrigate 73,088 acres of land in 244 villages under five blocks of the district. Over two lakh farmers in these villages have long been waiting for completion of the project. The government has to bear revenue loss due to delay in completion of the project.
The project was started in 2004. At that time it was estimated that Rs 431 crore will be spent on the project. But, over the years, its cost escalated so much that it would cost 20 times more than the original estimated cost of Rs 431 crore. While the cost went up to Rs 1076 crore in 2013, Rs 2200 crore has already been spent by October, 2019. Its cost will cross Rs 3000 crore in coming days, a report said.
Plan for this project was drawn in 1971 while late Chief Minister Janaki Ballabha Patnaik laid the foundation of the project in 1980. Chief minister Biju Patnaik had laid the foundation stone of the irrigation project in 1955. However, the project was started in 2004.
While the work on the main dam and canals has not ended, problems are continuing in land acquisition. Agitations by displaced people over R&R issues have also affected the progress of the work. The project has hit nine villages completely and seven villages partially. The state rehabilitation council has not yet sorted out the issues of the project oustees.
It has also been pointed out that due to defective design, the fault made in the spillway and foundation needs to be rectified. It will entail huge spending, a citizens’ forum, Keonjhar Nagarika Manch, alleged. The project’s catchment area has not been rightly mapped while there is an inordinate delay in the work of spill channel bridge to be built across NH -20.
If the project is executed, farmers of the area will benefit their rabi crops. The project will displace 3,549 families of villages while 1,769 families have been rehabilitated by the state government.
The villagers alleged that the state government couldn’t provide funds to rehabilitate 1,825 families. Various outfits, political parties and citizens’ forums including the Keonjhar Nagarika Manch, have long demanded completion of the project, but their expectation has remained a mere hope.