The Prime Minister’s Office, in principle, gave a go ahead to the State Government on Mandal Dam situated in Barwadeeh block of latehar district on Thursday. State Water Resources Minister CP Chaudhary said that the PMO has given a positive signal and asked for reports on the project.
“Principal Secretary of the department has attended the meeting in Delhi on today. We have received a very positive response but they have asked for detailed reports on the project,” said Chaudhary.
Sources said that the meeting was chaired by the principal secretary to the Prime Minister Nipender Mishra. The meeting saw the presence of the chairman of Central Water Commission also alongwith two MPs of Jharkhand V D Ram of Palamu and Sunil Kumar Singh of Chatra. Two MPs from Bihar Sushil Kumar Singh from Aurangabad and Haree Manjhi from Gaya along with top officials of the Bihar Government were also in the meeting.
The Mandal dam is an inter-state water way and hence Bihar and Jharkhand are its stake holders. Started 40 years back this dam is yet to irrigate even an inch of land either in Jharkhand or in Bihar.
Sources said the major hurdle in this dam is the Palamu tiger reserve as one report suggested the inundation will be enormous in the PTR putting at peril the lives of the wild animals here along with human population who will face a kind of displacement.
Sources said as this dam is being pursued by Government of India now and the PMO is monitoring hopes have brightened for the start of this dam which over the last four decades have seen a large scale of theft of its iron bars and other costly articles from the dam site.