Jajpur: Substandard work, delays and wrong recommendations in land acquisition, and irregularities in compensation payments have marred the progress of the left canal work under Rengali multipurpose irrigation project on Brahmani river, leaving the local farmers in dire straits.
According to Water Resources department reports, as of August, about Rs 1,260 crore had been spent on the canal works. However, soil work is pegged at 56.28 per cent, concrete work 74.61 per cent, canal lining work 45.75 per cent, and packing work 66.40 per cent, while the remaining work has been pending. The delays have left local farmers worried. The left canal was originally intended to cover 39,416 hectares of land across 71.313 km to 123.550 km, but departmental reports said only about 900 hectares have been irrigated so far.
Furthermore, structural flaws, substandard work and improper management of work along certain stretches of the canal have led to water seepage issues, triggering discontent among the farming community. Conceived in 1980s with funding from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Rengali project aimed at addressing flood control, generation of hydropower, and irrigation, with a budget of Rs 2,255.30 crore, of which JICA contributed Rs 1,787.30 crore.
The project was scheduled to be completed within eight years – from 2015-16 to 2022-23 – but current progress suggests otherwise. The department had previously set the target of completing the project by July 2024, but land acquisition issues and disputes over forest land acquisition are proving to be significant bottlenecks on its path. The construction of the left canal spanning over 141km has been taken up by consultancy firms like Biraja Constructions, DD Builders, GVV Constructions and Durga Constructions. It is alleged that necessary construction materials are not being utilised as per project estimates.
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Meanwhile, the department has clarified that seepage of water is taking place as the canal construction has been taken up in areas having deposits of laterite stones. In a separate investigation by the Water Resources department, three land acquisition officials and a staffer were found to have misappropriated Rs 1.22 crore meant for farmers’ compensation. These officials, including the land acquisition officer and a staff member – Dambarudhar Pradhan, Girija Bhushan Pradhan, Prafulla Kumar Mohapatra, and Bholeshwar Sahu – have since been suspended by the additional secretary of the department. Further disciplinary action has been directed against them. Rengali dam Chief Engineer SJ Jali said about 155 acres of private land are yet to be acquired due to a lack of land acquisition offi cers, and the government has been informed, asserting that no negligence is involved in executing the project.