Projects in Maharashtra face non-recovery of restoration charges

Mumbai: A Comptroller Auditor General report tabled in Maharashtra Legislature has said that there was non-recovery of restoration charges in cases of change of use for non-irrigation purposes. "Any change in reservation of water by more than 25 per cent for non irrigation purpose (domestic and industrial use) was subject to recovery of restoration charges but in two irrigation projects (Gangapur-Darna and Pawna) there was short/non-recovery of restoration charges amounting to Rs 95.75 crore” said the report that was tabled on Saturday.

It also said that in Hetawane project, in the absence of any specific time frame for the recovery of restoration charges, the reservation of water to four entities continued for three years without recovery of any charges and execution of agreements. The irrigation potential created in the state sector was 48.26 lakh ha (hectare) as of June 2011, while that utilised as of June 2012 was 32.51 lakh ha i.e. 67.36 per cent of the irrigation potential created.

While as against irrigation potential of 32.44 lakh has created as of June 2013 from the projects handed over by the Maharashtra government to five Irrigation Development Corporations and the projects subsequently taken up by them, the irrigation potential utilised as of June 2012 was 17.04 lakh ha (52.53 per cent). The evaporation loss of live storage from dams increased from 17.58 per cent (2007-08) to 19.67 per cent (2011-12).

Analysis of the Water Audit Reports Management of Irrigation Projects revealed that evaporation loss in 17 projects was more than 200 per cent of the live storage indicating incorrect assessment/compilation of data on evaporation losses, CAG said.