Maharashtra implements new policy to remove excess silt from dams and give it to farmers

Mumbai: In the wake of increasing silt in the reservoirs of dams, decreasing water storage capacity and uncontrolled sand extraction, the state on Thursday approved the removal of silt and silt-mixed sand from the reservoirs of six major projects on an experimental basis and issued a revised policy. “This policy will increase the water storage in the projects, and farmers will be provided with sufficient silt free of cost for their farms. Also, this step will be important in terms of conservation of dams. The projects where silt will be removed on an experimental basis include Ujani, Girna, Gosikhurd, Mula, Jayakwadi and Hatnur dams,” officials said.

According to the new policy, the concerned Irrigation Development Corporations have been given the authority to take this action. The revenue generated from this process will be used for the rehabilitation and repair of the related irrigation projects.

“The most important aspect is that the silt removed from the dams will be made available to the farmers completely free of cost for their fields. The farmers will only have to bear the transportation cost, and no ownership fee will be charged. This will help in increasing the fertility of the land. The duration of the tenders has been fixed according to the volume of silt. If the silt is up to 50 million cubic metres, it will be five years, for 50 to 100 million cubic metres, it will be seven years, and if the silt is more than 100 million cubic metres, it will be 10 years,” officials said.