Bhopal
Water Resources Minister Shri Tulsiram Silavat has said that former Prime Minister Late. Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s dream of river linking is coming true in Madhya Pradesh under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Dr. Mohan Yadav. Prime Minister Shri Modi is soon going to inaugurate the work of two very ambitious irrigation projects of the state, Ken-Betwa and Parvati-Kalisindh-Chambal river linking projects. This is a matter of good fortune not only for Madhya Pradesh but for the entire country. We are about to achieve unprecedented achievements in the field of irrigation. The current irrigation capacity of our state has reached 50 lakh hectares. We have set a target of taking it to 65 lakh hectares by the year 2025-26 and to one crore hectares by the year 2028. We are also working at a fast pace in this direction.
Water Resources Minister Shri Silavat inaugurated the two-day workshop on dam safety “Regional Workshop on Rapid Risk Screening of Dams” at Hotel Marriott. On this occasion he also launched a web based “Rapid Risk Assessment Tool” for the safety of dams. The program was started by flowing water from the water urn. Shri Anand Mohan, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India, subject experts and concerned officials from five states including Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh were present in the workshop.
Water Resources Minister Shri Silavat said that the development of the nation lies in the development of farmers and irrigation is most important for the farmers. There are 6314 small and big dams in our state. These dams are the backbone of our farmers, citizens and industries. It is necessary to do regular “checkup” of these old dams, that is why “Dam Safety Act” was implemented in the country on 30 December 2021. In this, 1361 dams of Madhya Pradesh have been identified. Of these, 50 dams are more than 100 years old, while 90% of the dams are two and a half decades old. All these require regular maintenance and safety measures. First level rapid screening of more than 500 of the identified dams has been done. The assessment of all dams will be completed by June 2025. This is an example to be emulated for other states also. Keeping in mind the safety of 27 dams in Madhya Pradesh, the government has given administrative approval of Rs 551 crore under Drip Project-2.
Ms. Devashree Mukherjee, Secretary, Ministry of Water, Government of India, said that with climate change, the safety of dams has become even more important. It is necessary to protect all dams scientifically. For this, inspection and risk assessment of dams is necessary every year before and after the rains. For this, an online tool has also been launched on Friday.
Dr. Rajesh Rajoura, Additional Chief Secretary Water Resources Department said that special care is being taken for the safety of dams in Madhya Pradesh. For this, continuous inspection and maintenance is being done. It is the result of constant vigilance that a big dam of the state “Karam Dam” was evacuated on time, due to which a major accident was averted. Chairman of National Dam Safety Authority, Shri Anil Jain said that “National Dam Safety Authority” was constituted in the country to ensure the safety of dams. There are a total of 6.5 thousand dams in India, for which constant monitoring and security arrangements are made. For this, rapid risk screening system has been developed.
