Marathwada Water Grid project to get momentum, Japan's positive response to aid of Rs 20 thousand crore

Mumbai, (City News Mumbai)

The Marathwada Water Grid project will be expedited with the objective of permanently ending the water problem in Maharashtra's Marathwada region and making the region drought-free. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has issued instructions to immediately prepare the preliminary report of the project and send it to the Department of Economic Affairs of the Central Government.

A high-level meeting was held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis with a senior delegation of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) at Varsha official residence in Mumbai. In the meeting, various infrastructure projects running with the cooperation of Maharashtra and Japan, including the Marathwada Water Grid project, were reviewed. A positive response has been given by JICA regarding receiving financial assistance of around Rs 20 thousand crore for this ambitious project.

Four districts to get benefit in first phase

Considering the uneven distribution of water in Marathwada, water will be conveyed through closed pipelines from dams with surplus water storage to dams in drought-affected areas. A dual water flow system will be developed for this.

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Beed, Latur and Dharashiv districts have been included in the first phase of the project. Under this, Jayakwadi, Majalgaon, Manjara, Ujani, Lower Terna and Lower Manar dams will be interconnected.

In this project, a main and feeder pipeline of approximately 3,095 kilometers in length and 15 water treatment plants will be constructed. About one crore citizens are expected to directly benefit from this.

JICA's positive response to loan of Rs 20 thousand crore

The estimated cost of the Water Grid project across all eight districts is around Rs 25,056 crore. JICA has shown a positive stance on the proposal to provide a loan of approximately Rs 20 thousand crore for the first phase.

Since Latur and Dharashiv are earthquake-prone areas, Japan's modern earthquake-resistant technology will be used in the construction of the project. This will include ductile iron pipes, modern pumping systems and SCADA system.

This project will also help provide a permanent water supply to the industries in AURIC City, Shendra-Bidkin and Waluj industrial areas of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.

Cooperation with Japan in AVGC sector as well

To take Maharashtra forward at the global level in the Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics (AVGC) sector, various initiatives are being taken in collaboration with Japanese companies and the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies (IICT).

Under this, 'Manga Caravan' will be organized in Mumbai in the month of February. Chief Minister Fadnavis welcomed this initiative.

Target to complete project by 2029

The process of appointing a Project Management Consultant and preparing the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the Marathwada Water Grid project will be completed soon with the cooperation of JICA. Planning has been done towards completing the actual construction work of the project by the year 2029.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that along with the infrastructure development of Maharashtra, cooperation with Japan in the fields of water, transport, environment and modern technology will be further strengthened. The state government will provide all necessary support to these projects.

Water Supply and Sanitation Minister Gulabrao Patil, Minister of State Meghna Sakore-Bordikar, Chief Economic Advisor to the Chief Minister Praveensingh Pardeshi, Additional Chief Secretary Parag Jain Nainutia, Vikas Chandra Rastogi, Member Secretary of Maharashtra Jeevan Authority Amgothu Naik, along with Consul General of Japan in India Hitomi Sato, Kenji Takagi and Chief Representative of JICA India Office Takuro Takeuchi and other senior officials were present in the meeting.