Gaya: The North Koel Canal Project is likely to be further delayed as landowners are putting obstacles in the project’s execution.According to official sources, about 30% of the land owners of Gaya district have refused compensation money on the ground that it was much below the market price. Land price, it may be recalled, has registered a sharp shoot up in recent years.Confirming refusal of a section of the farmers/landowners to part with their land, Gaya district land acquisition officer Ravindra Ram said efforts were being taken to neutralise the impact of resistance of the land owners.The govt has now taken possession of the land and it is being handed over to the water resources department (WRD). The compensation amount of the reluctant farmers is being deposited with the competent authority. As the court has not stayed the land acquisition proceeding, the land, as per law, is deemed to have been acquired.Aurangabad officiating DM Anugrah Narain Singh told this newspaper on Friday that some land acquisition related issues also exist in Aurangabad but the exact quantification of land yet to be fully acquired can not be made instantly. About 70% of the project work has been completed, he said.Being monitored at high levels, including PMO and the state govt, the project missed the March 31 deadline. According to a senior WRD officer, no new deadline has been fixed for the project’s completion.The project was started way back in 1972 and was subsequently stopped for environmental reasons as it was feared that the dam height would pose threat to Palamu Tiger Reserve. The work got revived in 2017 only after the dam height was lowered to address the concerns of the Palamu Tiger Reserve. The water source of the project lies in neighbouring Jharkhand state.The project cost too, in the meantime registering a steep hike. Estimated to cost only Rs30 crore in 1972, it is now estimated to cost a whopping Rs2,430 crore. Once completed, the canal would irrigate about 1,25,000 hectares of land in the drought-prone Gaya and Aurangabad districts of Magadh division with Aurangabad being the major beneficiary. The canal will irrigate 95,000 hectares of land in Aurangabad while another 30,000 hectares of land in Gaya will receive the benefit.Non-conventional construction techniques are being adopted to minimise water waste by making the canal bed and side slopes non porous. The technique, besides improving hydraulic efficiency, prevents soil erosion and increases flow velocity of irrigation water, said domain experts.
