Pune: A pilot desilting programme at Ujani dam, which promises farmers in the vicinity silt free of cost, could be exploited by contractors to steal large quantities of precious soil and sand from the reservoir, activists in the area have now warned.Ujani is among seven major dams in the state where the desilting programme is being executed – Koyna, Jayakwadi, Girna, Gosikhurd, Mula and Hatnur being the others. Officials said farmers won’t need individual permission to extract and use the silt in their fields. The programme is a two-fold intervention, to recover storage capacity and supply farmers with silt that could restore soil quality.But activists said the scheme should be tightly monitored to prevent excavation on a commercial scale. The silt has been promised free of cost to farmers, but they’ll have to bear the cost of extraction and transport, involving earthmovers, trucks and tractors.“This is why we fear big contractors with access to large excavators, trucks and equipment could take control of the entire operation,” said local activist and farmer Sachin Kokare, from the Ujani command area. “If govt is making silt free for farmers, it should ensure only the farmers are primary beneficiaries, not the contractors,” he added.Anil Nagare, another farmer-activist, said govt should specify how much material can be removed by individuals, to ensure a scientific and transparent excavation process. “If contractors are allowed to bring large machines into the reservoir, they can extract huge quantities on the pretext of supplying farmers with silt. Every truck should be monitored,” Nagare, a resident of Palasdev village, told TOI.HT Dhumal, chief engineer of Krishna Valley Development Corporation, which oversees the dam, said the state revenue dept will be monitoring the desilting activity. “A tender is being issued soon. Farmers will not have to pay any levy for the dam’s soil. We will be coordinating with the revenue department,” he said.State govt has also planned a scientific assessment of the material that has accumulated in the dams. A survey through the Maharashtra Engineering Research Institute (MERI), Nashik, will determine the quantity of silt and proportion of sand mixed with it, officials said.Experts warned that a poorly planned excavation ran the risk of disrupting aquatic habitats, local sediment movement and the reservoirs’ water quality.“Reservoir sediment is not mere waste. It’s part of aquatic and riverine ecosystems and its removal has to be based on sediment mapping, hydrology and the ecological characteristics of the reservoir. Excavation should be restricted to scientifically identified zones,” said an environmental expert who specialises in freshwater ecosystems.The expert added that the objective should be “restoration of storage capacity, not maximum extraction”.Bharat Mallav, a member of the local fishing community, said govt has to determine the quantity of sediment that can be removed without disturbing a reservoir’s ecological balance. “Livelihoods of thousands of fisherfolk could be hit if aquatic life is disturbed. So authorities should place an effective mechanism to monitor this activity, to ensure only farmers get the benefits of this exercise,” he said.At Ujani dam, presence of sand mixed with silt is also likely to make the pilot particularly sensitive, the activists added.Govt has proposed the commercial sand component would be separately auctioned to generate revenue for river valley development corporations, but farmers said market value of sand could encourage contractors to only focus on maximum extraction than the stated objective of supplying agricultural silt.“The moment sand becomes part of this process, there will be commercial interest. Govt must clearly separate silt for farmers from commercial sale of sand and make the entire process transparent,” said Amol Pature, a farmer from the Ujani region.Experts said govt should also conduct soil testing before recommending large-scale application of reservoir sediment on farmland. “Nutrient and contaminant profile of sediment can vary considerably. Before farmers apply large quantities to their fields, the material should be tested for its chemical properties, including presence of contaminants,” said an agricultural soil expert who did not wish to be named.Why this is a test case for MaharashtraThe state’s water resources department has 66 major, 289 medium and 3,313 minor irrigation projects. The Ujani pilot could therefore become a template for desilting other reservoirs if the model proves successful.The government will need a transparent system to identify farmers, mapping excavation sites, tracking vehicles and accounting for the sand recovered from the sediment.Success of the Ujani experiment may ultimately depend less on how much silt is removed, and more on whether the state can ensure that the material reaches farmers without turning the desilting project into another contractor-driven extraction business
