Maharashtra government to give 1k hectares of forest land for dam

The Maharashtra government has finally decided to hand over 1,055.64 hectares of forest land to state Water Resources Department for the Jigaon dam project in Buldhana district

The Maharashtra government has finally decided to hand over 1,055.64 hectares of forest land to state Water Resources Department for the Jigaon dam project in Buldhana district.

The project, conceived in 2000, became controversial because of allegations of corruption. Former Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and MLC (then with NCP) Sandip Bajoria are named in a petition before the Mumbai High Court that alleges misappropriation of funds. In a recent election, Bajoria was elected as an Independent member of the state Legislative Council.

The dam will have total water storage capacity of around 25 TMC and is estimated to cost about R 500 crore. A government resolution on Thursday said for the construction of the dam and water storage, 1,055.64 hectares of forest land would be handed over to the Water Resources Department.

As the project is ‘site specific’, it was necessary to hand over the forest land, the GR said. “The total area that will be submerged is 12,000 hectares,” the GR said.

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