Haryana Government has decided to built a dam on Khilanwala Khol, a tributary of the Yamuna river, in Yamunanagar district at a cost of Rs 29.10 crore.
The water stored in this dam would be utilised for irrigating 3200 acres of land covering nine villages of Chhachhrauli Tehsil of Yamunanagar, said a spokesman of Irrigation and Water Resources Department.
He said that since Khilanwala Khol and Pathrala River are the tributaries of river Yamuna, necessary clearances are being taken from Upper Yamuna River Board (UYRB) in additio n to Forest and Environment clearances for the construction of Khilanwala Dam.
Khilanwala Dam has been proposed to be constructed on Khilanwala Khol, a tributary of river Pathrala which joins river Yamuna near Dadupur. During monsoon period, Khillanwala Khol causes lot of damages to the land in the form of soil erosion. The construction of this dam would not only help in flood control but also in irrigation, ground water recharging and tourism, said the spokesman. Apart from this, fish farming in the Dam reservoir is expected to be quite beneficial as it is near to Yamunanagar, he said.
He further said that fisheries in the reservoir would be developed by Fisheries Department and would result in revenue earning. Moreover, construction of the dam would also invite different type of birds especially the cranes. As such the area could be developed by Tourism Department, more and more tourist would be attracted, he added.
He said that after its construction, the dam would be able to supply 7.68 cusecs of water in a year for 25 years which would irrigate 3200 acres of the area besides improving the local ground water table.
The proposed height of the Khilanwala dam is 20.50 meter with a top of 6.0 meter and length at top is 280 meter. The catchment area of the proposed dam is 7.17 square kilometers which lies totally in Haryana, said the spokesman.
The runoff from the catchment area has been assessed as 403.03 hectare meter at 50 per cent dependability and 206.0 hectares meter at 75 per cent dependability. This runoff is sufficient to provide 7.68 cusec water for 97 days of depletion period, he added.