Uttarakhand: The Chief Secretary directed the concerned officers to prepare a plan for the next 5 years for check dams and barrages across the state.

Chief Secretary Anand Bardhan reviewed the progress of construction and saturation of barrages, check dams and reservoirs etc. in the state with irrigation, minor irrigation, water resources and river rejuvenation authority at the secretariat on Tuesday. The Chief Secretary said that a plan for the next 5 years should be prepared for check dams and barrages across the state. Also, an action plan should be presented with a timeline.

The Chief Secretary took detailed information about the works being done by the irrigation, minor irrigation and water resources and river rejuvenation authority. He said that the entire state has to be saturated with check dams and barrages. He directed that the entire state should be saturated by building barrages in rivers. He said that barrages should be built on priority basis at places with low availability of drinking water.

The Chief Secretary said that for the construction of check dams, the departments must comply with the guidelines of the water resources and river rejuvenation authority. He said that for the construction of check dams, focus should be laid on the treatment of catchment area and water sources. He said that check dams can be effective in improving the ground water level as well as preventing incidents like Dharali in the monsoon season.

The Chief Secretary said that a list of barrages and check dams should be prepared and priority should be decided. Drinking water and irrigation schemes should be given priority. Also, he directed the authority to work continuously for ground water recharge in urban areas. He also talked about adopting bio-friendly technology.

The Chief Secretary has also given instructions to expedite the construction work of reservoirs in the state. He has directed the Secretary Irrigation to conduct a weekly review to expedite the construction of Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee reservoir. He said that the Satpuli Barrage of district Pauri should be completed soon and the construction work of the proposed Khairana Barrage in district Nainital should be started soon.

During the meeting, a detailed presentation was given on the works being done by the Irrigation, Minor Irrigation and Water Resources and River Rejuvenation Authority.

Senior officers of the Irrigation and Minor Irrigation Department including Secretary Dilip Jawalkar, Jugal Kishore Pant and Additional Secretary Himanshu Khurana were present on this occasion.