Umiam dam, Leshka dam and three other dams in Meghalaya have been selected for improvement of their safety and operational performance under the Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP).
The total budget outlay for the six dams in Meghalaya is Rs. 441 crore. Across the country, the project envisages comprehensive rehabilitation of 736 existing dams. The World Bank will provide financing for the project.
Meghalaya Power Generation Corporation Limited (MePGCL) will implement the project with the involvement of Central Water Commission.
The project involves minor to major civil works for rehabilitation of dams and appurtenance structures and institutional strengthening for long term stability of the dams. The minor work may involve repair of gates valves, spillways and bottom outlet and electric and electronics components while major work may involve construction of hydrological structures like additional spillways.
It may be mentioned that on October 29, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP) Phase II and Phase III with the financial assistance of the World Bank (WB), and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to improve the safety and operational performance of selected dams across the whole country, along with institutional strengthening with system wide management approach.
The project cost is Rs 10,211 crore. The project will be implemented over a period of ten years duration in two phases, each of six years duration with two years overlapping from April, 2021 to March, 2031.
The share of external funding is Rs 7,000 crore of the total project cost, and balance Rs 3,211 crore is to be borne by the concerned Implementing Agencies (IAs). The contribution of Central government is Rs 1,024 crore as loan liability and Rs 285 crore as counter-part funding for Central Component.
DRIP Phase II and Phase III envisages to improve the safety and performance of selected existing dams and associated appurtenances in a sustainable manner, to strengthen the dam safety institutional setup in participating states as well as at central level, and to explore the alternative incidental means at few of selected dams to generate the incidental revenue for sustainable operation and maintenance of dams.
To achieve the above objectives, DRIP Phase II and Phase III has four components. These include rehabilitation and improvement of dams and associated appurtenances, dam safety institutional strengthening in participating States and Central agencies, exploration of alternative incidental means at few of selected dams to generate the incidental revenue for sustainable operation and maintenance of dams, and project management.
