Srinagar: Union Minister of State in PMO Dr. Jitendra Singh has said that the Central government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved a canal system alongside the multipurpose Ujh Project to check uncontrolled water flow of river Ujh to Pakistan. He said that the Ujh multipurpose project which was stalled for a century, is being revived now and its surplus water, instead of flowing to Pakistan, will be utilized through the canal system by neighboring States of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan besides, the Union Territory (UT) of Jammu and Kashmir. Within J&K, the Ujh dam project will primarily benefit the kandi area along the Pathankot-Jammu National Highway located both on the north and south side.
After the Pulwama attack of February 14, 2019, the Central government had announced that it will utilise its entire share of Eastern Rivers, particularly Ravi and its tributary Ujh. In all, three projects had been announced by the government on February 22 emphasising that the water will not be allowed to flow unimpeded to Pakistan located on the south of International Border (IB). The first project was regarding completion of the long pending Shahpur Kandi dam project on Ravi river which was to benefit farmers of Punjab and J&K. At that time, it was estimated that the completion of this project may cost around Rs. 500 crore. This project was taken up and is nearing completion and a water storage dam below Ranjit Sagar dam (at the Thein village) is being built.
Unwarranted delay
Dr. Singh said the project was conceived during Maharaja Hari Singh’s rule nearly a century ago. However, the Ujh dam project could not see the light of the day due to certain reasons. After the independence of the country, successive Congress governments at the Centre kept the project in limbo for vested political reasons, he alleged. But soon after Narendra Modi took over as PM in 2014, this project began to be discussed at the highest level. He said that the Shahpur Kandi project too was sabotaged by successive governments for their vested political interests. In February 2019, the Ujh Multipurpose Project was announced but due to unknown reasons, it was not taken up. More than six years after the announcement regarding this project, it has failed to get executed.
Dr. Jitendra Singh said the Ujh project is being given top priority by the government as it will help utilise water of our own share to benefit the Indian farmers in the UT of J&K and some neighbouring states. The Ujh project, when announced in February 2019, was estimated to cost upwards of Rs. 10,000 crore. However, it appears the outbreak of Covid led the government to reset its priorities and push back the project. After the Pahalgam terrorist attack of April 22 last year, the government is now sharply focussed on utilisation of water from the six rivers of the Indus river system.
He said though Shapur Kandi is now in the last phase of completion, the work on Ujh Project could not be taken up in hand as there was a problem of where the surplus water of the project would go? However, after the Pahalgam terrorist attack and Operation Sindoor that followed, the Government of India put the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) in abeyance. It was at this point in time that the security forces also suggested that a canal system for the Ujh Multipurpose Project will be purposeful in diverting the surplus water to other States instead of letting it flow to Pakistan. They also stressed on taking up the Project in hand as Ujh river bed has been a well established route of infiltration from across the border. Dr. Jitendra Singh informed that through the canal system the water of the Ujh Project can be utilized by neighboring States as well as J&K.
Mitigation measures
Dr Jitendra Singh said that the allocation of over Rs. 1,400 crore for J&K by Centre to carry out repairs to damaged public property during recent floods will help mitigate the sufferings of the people. He said his Lok Sabha constituency suffered maximum damage during the floods and cloudbursts and areas affected included Kishtwar, Ramban, Udhampur and Kathua districts. He said out of this allocation, every district in UT will get its share as per the damage suffered. He said the public representatives should remain in touch with administration and submit reports of the damage in their respective areas.
Incidentally, of this allocation, the first tranche of over Rs. 900 crore has already been transferred to the UT government for hastening the reconstruction works. The Minister said Rs.10 crore has been allocated for temporary repairs in Kathua. He said a firm timeline has been set up to carry out repair of all damaged structures by August this year.
