Finally, the Pancheshwar dam project to be built at the confluence of Mahakali and Saryu rivers in Uttarakhand’s Champawat district, that had remained stalled for nearly half a century, has made headway with India and Nepal nominating members to prepare Detailed Project Report (DPR) for constructing the project. As per agreement the two nations have agreed to set up the Pancheswar Development Authority and now four members from each country will be members in the same body.
Three names from the Indian side have been received so far. They are are HK Sahu, chief engineer of the Central Water Commission, AK Khariya, director, and Munni lal, Joint Commissioner, Ministry of Water Resources, Government of India, said DC Singh, Chief Engineer, State Irrigation department (Kumaon Division), while talking to The Pioneer. However, Singh declined to comment whether the fourth person would be from the State.
Presently, the Pancheswar Development Authority is working from its office in Kathmandu, Nepal. later, as things settle down the headquarters of the Pancheswar Development Authority (PDA) will be shifted to Mahendra Nagar in Nepal’s Kanchanpur district, informed Singh. The detailed project report (DPR) that was prepared way back in 1995 for the project would form baseline for the newly nominated members of both the neighbours to prepare a new DPR for this project.
The DPR prepared in 1995 is being revised. The work assigned to the newly appointed members of both the countries is to make necessary changes in the said DPR to meet today’s constructional and technical and other necessary requirements, further said the officials concerned. It may be recalled that a proposal to construct the Pancheshwar dam at the confluence of Mahakali and Saryu rivers in Champawat was mooted in 1967 and a DPR was prepared in 1995.
Things supposedly progressing towards the consummation had spawned hopes in both the countries concerned. However, things continued to vegetate for nearly five decades. As per this DPR, the electricity generation capacity of this project was about 6,000 MW.
Its height was estimated 315 meter with a total 13,400 hectare submergence areas i.e. 9,550 hectare area in India and 3850 in Nepal. However, for India to start any work on the project, consent from the Nepal Government was mandatory. But with both the neighbours not being able to reach an agreement during the past so many years, the much- talked about project continued to hang fire.
Therefore, alive to India’s growing energy needs and requirement of water for both agriculture and drinking purposes in the region, the NDA- led Central Government took up the long-stalled project with the government of the Himalayan country. The elated people laud the thaw as historic.