The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), led by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has given its approval for the inclusion of the Jamrani Dam Multipurpose Project in Uttarakhand under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana-Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (PMKSY-AIBP) of the Department of Water Resources, River Development, and Ganga Rejuvenation.
This approval entails a central financial support of Rs 1,557.18 crore to Uttarakhand to complete the project, which is estimated to cost Rs 2,584.10 crore by 31 March 2028.
The Jamrani Dam Multipurpose Project is designed to construct a dam near Jamrani village across the Gola River, a tributary of the Ram Ganga River, in Uttarakhand’s Nainital district. This dam will supply water to the existing Gola barrage through a 40.5 km canal system and a 244 km long canal system that was originally completed in 1981.
The project’s goals include providing additional irrigation for 57,065 hectares of land (9,458 hectares in Uttarakhand and 47,607 hectares in Uttar Pradesh) in Nainital and Udham Singh Nagar districts of Uttarakhand, as well as Rampur and Bareilly districts in Uttar Pradesh. In addition to constructing two new feeder canals, the project will renovate 207 km of existing canals and upgrade 278 km of concrete field channels. Furthermore, the project will generate 14 MW of hydroelectric power and provide 42.70 million cubic meters of drinking water to Haldwani and neighboring areas, benefiting over 10.65 lakh people.
A significant portion of the project’s irrigation benefits will be shared with the neighboring state of Uttar Pradesh, as stipulated in an MoU signed in 2017. However, the benefits of drinking water and electricity will be entirely for the benefit of Uttarakhand.
The Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) was launched in the year 2015-16 to improve water access for farming, expand cultivated areas with assured irrigation, enhance water use efficiency on farms, and promote sustainable water conservation practices.
The Government of India has approved the implementation of PMKSY for the period 2021-26 with a total budget of Rs 93,068.56 crore, including central assistance of Rs 37,454 crore. The Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme (AIBP) component of PMKSY focuses on creating irrigation potential through major and medium irrigation projects. To date, 53 projects have been completed under PMKSY-AIBP, resulting in an additional irrigation potential of 25.14 lakh hectares. Since 2021-22, six more projects have been included in PMKSY 2.0’s AIBP component, with the Jamrani Dam Multipurpose Project being the seventh project to be added to this scheme.
