The Maharashtra cabinet has sanctioned the fourth administrative approval for the Gosikhurd National Project, raising the total project cost to Rs 259.73 Bn. The project is set to benefit 1,96,600 hectares of farmland in Nagpur, Chandrapur, and Bhandara districts.

Initially approved in March 1983, the Gosikhurd Irrigation Project aimed to create irrigation potential for 2,50,800 hectares annually. It includes the construction of an earthen dam, a spillway, Left Bank and Right Bank Canals, nine Lift Irrigation Schemes, and augmentation of the Asolamendha tank. The project, declared a National Irrigation Project in 2009, was inaugurated by former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1984.

The project’s original cost was Rs 3.72 Bn, revised successively to Rs 5.66 Bn, Rs 7.78 Bn in 2007, Rs 13.74 Bn in 2012, and Rs 18.5 Bn in 2016. The Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation is implementing the project, located at Gosikhurd on the Wainganga river within the Godavari basin.

The scheme will provide water for irrigation, drinking, industrial use, fisheries, and hydropower generation. It also forms part of the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchhan Yojana.

Separately, the cabinet approved Rs 42.07 Bn for the construction of a four-lane elevated road and a six-lane ground road between Talegaon, Chakan, and Shikrapur in Pune district.

Source: Express News Service