The Nira River originates in the Western Ghats and flows through Pune, Satara, and Solapur before meeting the Bhima River near Akluj. The dam was constructed at Deoghar village in Bhor taluka, 74 km. from Pune. Although the project under the Krishnakhore Development Corporation was approved in 1984, the construction faced the apathy of the previous governments. The command area of the dam includes Pune, Satara, and Solapur districts, targeting 43,050 hectares of land in drought-prone talukas like Bhor, Khandala, Phaltan, and Malishiras to bring under irrigation.
Launch of the Nira Deoghar Pipeline project
On 17 January 2024, Dy. CM Devendra Fadnavis laid the foundation and performed Bhoomi Pujan for the Nira Deoghar pipeline project in the Satara district, which will extend the water supply from the Nira Deoghar dam to the Madha constituency. Water is a luxury that the residents of 16 villages in Satara and the villages in northern Solapur yearn for every summer. Fadnavis took the initiative and cleared the approval of Rs 3,967 crore for this project. The project will also ensure the supply of 0.93 TMC water from the Nira Deoghar dam to the Dhom Balkawadi project command area to meet the shortfall during the Rabi season.
Of the total length of 158 km right bank canal of the Nira Deoghar dam, 65 km of canal work was completed in the conventional manner. Further work up to 87 km. was to be completed through the closed pipe system. An amount of Rs 917.81 crore was spent on the project by the end of December 2023. A Rs. 100 crore fund was provided in the budget of 2023-2024. The inauguration and Bhoomipujan program were also attended by officials like the Executive Director of Krishna Khore Development Corporation, Atul Kapole, Chief Engineer H.V. Gunale, Pune Irrigation Project, and Board Superintendent Engineer Kumar Patil. A large number of people from nearby villages also thronged the ceremony.
Grievance over water discrimination
The Nira Deoghar dam, having a storage capacity of 11.73 TMC was constructed in 2006. It was built to provide water for irrigation in Pune and downstream districts. The dam is located on the Nira River near Bhor. However, since 2007, around 60% of the water used to be diverted to Baramati and Indapur through the dam’s left-bank canal, leaving only 40% of the water for supply to the drought-affected command area of the dam on the right-bank side for irrigation and domestic use. The startling fact is that the 11 km. long left bank of the dam was not part of its command area, yet it would consume 60% of its water while the 208 km. long drought-prone districts like Pune, Satara, and Solapur on the right bank were ignored. Locals had a long-time grievance that the water was being robbed for cash crop sugarcane farming in Baramati and Indapur while the right bank region, known to produce jowar, gram, sugarcane, grapes, pomegranates, wheat, maize, and bajara, remains cursed with unequal distribution of water due to vote bank politics.
Politics in water sharing
Western Maharashtra is considered the most prosperous region of the state. The powerful sugar cooperatives, river basins, over 90% cultivable land in the state, and strong political influence are reasons behind this status. The drought in western Maharashtra is not discussed as much as that in Vidarbha and Marathwada. However, many will be surprised to learn that this region has the most drought-affected talukas. While the rain shadow of the Western Ghats is a natural cause, the other causes are man-made, such as the absence of proper planning and, more importantly, the disparity in water distribution that prevailed in the region for decades.
Strong lobbies of the Congress and NCP have always been dominant forces in western Maharashtra to have deprived the Madha parliamentary constituency of its rightful share of water from the irrigation projects in the Krishna Basin.
Taking steps to stop water theft from the dam
Remedial measures are needed to change the situation in the vast drought-prone Madha constituency. Learning about the illegal diversion of water from the Nira Deoghar dam to Baramati and Indapur, the Shinde-Fadnavis government has also ordered to stop the same, and instead supply adequate water to Satara, Solapur, and Sangli via the right bank canal.
Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis compared the illegal diversion of dam water to the robbery of water, which was something unheard of before, and assured that, as also the home minister of the state, he would do the needful to stop this. He thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that due to the funds given by Modi, the work in the drought-affected areas was accelerated. He pointed out that within just 13 months after forming the government, the Mahayuti Sarkar delivered 8 vital projects, including the ones to improve irrigation and water sufficiency in the drought-prone districts. For the Krishna Basin only, projects worth 22000 crore were approved.
Finding opportunities in problems
In his speech, Fadnavis repeatedly called attention to the flooding of the Krishna River. He said, “There was a flood in Sangli Kolhapur when boats moved on the highway. Floods in the Krishna Basin were occurring more often than not, causing great damage to the localities. However, if the flood water could be diverted to the drought-prone areas of Ujni, Satara, Sangli, Solapur, Marathwada, etc., it would have solved both problems.” He said that such a project got the approval of the World Bank through the center, emphasizing that when he was the CM, work to divert excessive floodwater from the Krishna River to the Ujani dam had taken place to help the drought-prone Madha.
Initiatives of Fadnavis
Coordination between the state and central governments was needed for funding this project. Fadnavis took the initiative for the inclusion of this project in the ‘Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchan Yojana’ scheme of the center. An important meeting was held on October 3, 2023, in the Water Resources Department of the Center. BJP MP from the Madha constituency Ranjitsinh Nimbalkar, Secretary of Jal Shakti Ministry Debashree Mukherjee, Chief Engineer of Krishna Basin Development Corporation Gunale, Executive Engineer of Deoghar Project, etc. were present in that meeting, which was fruitful. The ‘Nira Deoghar pipeline project’ was included in the central plan. Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had already approved 40 percent of the funds from the state government. The rest 60 percent of the cost of the project would be borne by the Center, paving the way to relief from drought in the western Maharashtra districts.
Earning goodwill in the enemy’s bastion
Earlier, the leaders of the Dhangar community had complained against the Congress-NCP lobby saying that water would not reach the OBC, especially in Dhangar-dominated areas, and that all the irrigation projects were diverted from the village of Soi for political gain. There were allegations that the OBC community villages were discriminated against in the water distribution line. This issue was central in the Mangalvedha-Pandharpur by-election. BJP MLA and leader of the Dhangar community, Gopichand Padalkar had been vociferous against Congress NCP many times. Sharad Pawar was accused of influencing the Krishna Bhima Stabilization Project from a caste angle. This problem was solved during the BJP rule. Like the Mangalvedha-Pandharpur by-election, the Nira Deoghar project could prove to be a decisive step towards pulling public opinion to the BJP in the upcoming elections. Many analysts think that the bold step of Fadnavis in stopping water robbery and launching the irrigation project will be a game changer in West Maharashtra, where NCP is dominant.
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