Maharashtra’s long-delayed Gosikhurd irrigation project gets yet another completion date: June 2026
From land acquisition to pending railway crossing work, a range of issues are plaguing the Gosikhurd National Irrigation Project in Maharashtra’s Vidarbha region.
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Although the construction of the dam was completed in November 2008, the project, originally scheduled to be completed in 2024, has seen its deadline pushed back several times. (Express File) Maharashtra’s Gosikhurd National Irrigation Project (GNIP), which began under the Indira Gandhi government over 40 years ago, has a new completion target again – June 2026. This is the sixth revision of the deadline, as per official records.
A major irrigation project in the Godavari basin on the Wainganga river near Gosikhurd village in Maharashtra’s Bhandara district, the GNIP was approved in March 1983 to create irrigation potential of 2,50,800 hectares annually in the Bhandara, Nagpur and Chandrapur districts.
The project has created an irrigation potential of 1,90,373 hectares as of September 30 this year. For the remaining 60,427 hectares, the government has set a new deadline of June 2026, information obtained by The Indian Express through the Right to Information (RTI) Act has revealed.
The project’s total irrigable command area (ICA) for the Command Area Development and Water Management (CADWM) is 1,90,000 hectares, of which Command Area Development (CAD) work for 80,650 hectares has been completed. The rest, 1,09,350 hectares, is also scheduled for completion by June 2026.
“June 2026 completion date is for the extended portion. The original project will end in March 2025. But few more LIS [lift irrigation schemes] have been taken up in the last two years which were not a part of the project, hence they will be finished by June 2026,” Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who is also the Water Resources Minister, told The Indian Express.
The original project comprised the construction of a dam and spillway, a Left Bank Canal (LBC), a Right Bank Canal (RBC), nine LIS, and the augmentation of the existing Asolamendha tank.
Although the construction of the dam was completed in November 2008, the project, originally scheduled to be completed in 2024, has seen its deadline pushed back several times. Now, the latest extension stretches it another two years, marking more than 10 deadline extensions over the years, unofficially.
A breakdown of the current status provided under the RTI Act reveals that the distribution network of the RBC and LBC is 87 per cent complete. Of the targeted 1,03,387 hectares, an irrigation potential of 61,355 hectares or 59 per cent has been achieved.
Several other components of the project remain unfinished. The Nerla LIS is 75 per cent complete, with 19,121 hectares of IP (65 per cent) created out of a target of 28,680 hectares. Similarly, Mokhabardi LIS is 80 per cent complete, having created 18,838 hectares of IP out of a targeted 28,235 hectares. The Asolamendha LIS has made 80 per cent progress, with 98 per cent of its IP already achieved.
What is causing the delay?
The delays, according to the RTI response, are due to several issues. Forest clearance for 353.74 hectares is still pending, with 315.74 hectares linked to the raising of the Asolamendha tank’s height. The document also mentions that the mutation of compensatory afforestation land is in progress. Additionally, clearance is still awaited for 38.80 hectares of forest land needed for the Ghodazari Branch Canal.
Another challenge delaying the project is the pending railway crossing work for the Ghodazari branch canal. The tender for RCC box pushing – a construction technique that involves pushing large precast reinforced concrete boxes horizontally through the ground – is under process by Rail India Technical and Economic Service, with the work expected to be completed by February 2025.
Land acquisition has also been a hurdle. Of the 29,320.36 hectares of land required for the Gosikhurd project in Nagpur, Bhandara, and Chandrapur districts, 28,749.26 hectares have been acquired. The remaining 571.10 hectares are expected to be secured by December 2025.
According to a senior official at the water resources department, Gosikhurd project, the two new LIS Fadnavis referred to are at Adyal and Mendaki, with irrigation potential of 5,591 hectares and 2,572 hectares respectively. Officials suggest the project is 75 per cent complete and has been stalled due to lack of adequate funds, among other issues.
In March this year, the Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation sanctioned Rs 14,44,40,000 to the Maharashtra government for CADWM for the state’s Annual Plan 2023-24. The amount being released as the second instalment was mentioned to be subject to several conditions to be complied with by the state government; one of which was the completion of the project by March 2025, as requested by the state in the revised memorandum of understanding.
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