Govt passes revised cost estimate for dam rehabilitation project Shiv Sena MLA announces new party, to fight for Maratha quota

NEW DELHI: In a major decision aimed at augmenting the safety and operational performance of selected existing dams, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the revised cost estimate of Rs 3,466 crore for the Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP), with the World Bank funding the major part of it.

According to an official statement, the original cost estimate for the project was Rs 2,100 crore, which has been revised to Rs 3,466 crore.

The project is also aimed at mitigating risks to ensure the safety of the downstream population and property.

As per the statement, of the total amount, the World Bank would fund Rs 2,628 crore and states under the project or the implementing agencies would provide Rs 747 crore, while the balance of Rs 91 crore would be given by the Central Water Commission (CWC).

“The CCEA also gave its expost facto approval for a twoyear time extension from July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2020,” the Ministry of Water Resources said in a statement.

The scheme envisages rehabilitation of 198 existing dam projects located in seven states -- Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Jharkhand (Damodar Valley Corporation) and Uttarakhand (Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited).

The project includes three components, the first being rehabilitation of a dam and its appurtenant structures, followed by institutional strengthening and project management.

“Originally, the total cost of DRIP was Rs 2,100 crore with state component of Rs 1,968 crore and Central component of Rs 132 crore,” the statement said, adding: “Initially, it was a six-year project which commenced on April 18, 2012 with a scheduled closing on June 30, 2018.”

The project implementation was granted in-principle approval for two years’ extension in 2017 by the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation and the World Bank, with a revised closure date of the project by June 30, 2020. MUMBAI: Accusing the Shiv Sena leadership of asking him not to voice his views on the Maratha quota issue, party MLA in Maharashtra Harshvardhan Jadhav announced on Wednesday that he is floating a new outfit.

Jadhav, who tendered resignation on the issue of reservations for the Marathas, Dhangars and Muslims in July, said his new party will strive to get quota for these communities.

His resignation as MLA is yet to be accepted by the Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Haribhau Bagade.

The legislator from Kannad in Aurangabad district said he would decide the new party’s name in a couple of days.

The party would be

launched formally in November this year and it may contest the Lok Sabha elections, Jadhav said.

“Social injustice has increased among various castes.

Hence I have decided to form a new party to ensure social equilibrium which is mentioned in the Constitution, which includes right to equality and equal opportunity,” Jadhav told PTI over phone from Aurangabad.

“I was told (by the Sena

leadership) not to speak on the Maratha quota issue. I did not find it (the gag order) right, as some people had killed themselves on that issue,” Jadhav said.

Shiv Sena is part of the Bjpled government in Maharashtra and the NDA government at the Centre.

“When an MLA takes aggressive stand on an issue concerning people, you (the party) should not have reprimanded him,” Jadhav said.