Meghalaya News 24 Exclusive
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Meghalaya Government is planning to build nearly 1000 ‘Small Multipurpose Reservoirs’ across the state; in partnership with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to retain the rain water. In the first phase, around 52 Small Multipurpose Reservoirs are being constructed within Shillong, while the constructions of around 32 are already completed.
Meghalaya, one of the wettest places on Earth, receives around 63 billion cubic litres of water annually, but can only retain 1 billion cubic litres. Amidst this low retention of rain water, the state Government is building enough reservoirs.
Speaking to Meghalaya News 24, Minister incharge of Soil & Water Conservation, Marcuise N Marak said the state Government has already floated a tender for the construction of Small Multipurpose Reservoirs in the state.
“We are coming up with a project called climate adaptive project for which ADB is funding so that the tenders will be floated any moment now. Projects are already prepared. These projects are actually small multipurpose reservoirs across the state. One thousand small multipurpose reservoirs are being constructed and not only reservoirs but along with them various economic activities and planting will be there, plantations will be there. Agriculture activists will be there and for this the ADB has already sent their experts to study and to get the knowledge of economic impact on the people over there,” Marak said.
“This is already done and once the tendering process is allotted, the work will be done very soon. This is basically done to retain the rain water. With this we are hoping to retain atleast half the percent of the rain water and recharge the groundwater. The first phase of the tendering has already started. Tendering for the East Khasi Hills district has already been ready,” he added.
The Minister also assured that the work for the remaining Small Multipurpose Reservoirs will also start within this fiscal year.
“By January February we will be starting the work. Definitely in this financial year we will start for all the phases,” the Minister said.
Asked about the financial implication, Marak said, “Earlier we were getting around Rs 700 crores but now the figure has come down because the externally aided projects which we are getting from the centre have reach the climax thats why the department will not get the seven hundred crores now, we will be getting at 60 percent of the amount proposed earlier. So we are hoping to get atleast 400 plus crores.”
Interestingly, in the first phase, over 52 Small Multipurpose Reservoirs are being constructed within Shillong, while the constructions of around 32 are already completed.
It may be mentioned that during the recent fire incident at Police Bazar, the District administration took 2 lakh litres of water from the Ward’s lake Shillong to douse the fire and this also led to feel a need to have more Small Multipurpose Reservoirs around which can also help when in need.
The district administration is making more water bodies in and around Shillong city in days to come.
The mapping of all the water bodies in East Khasi Hills is already done as the district administration is prioritising the areas for having water Check dams and water harvesting.