NASHIK: The state government has given administrative approval for Rs. 13.77 crore project fund for the Devnacha irrigation project at Devdari in Yeola taluka of Nashik district. The primary estimated cost of the project is Rs 13 crore. A total of 358 hectares of land will get covered under irrigation, and these drought-prone hilly areas will get revived with the availability of water.
Minister of Soil and Water Conservation Shankarrao Gadakh, and the Principal Secretary of Water Conservation, were present at the meeting held at the Mantralay in Mumbai for the Devanacha Irrigation Project. Bhagwatrao Sonawane, chairman of the Devanacha Irrigation Project Action Committee, had been pursuing the project since 2012.
The change of government in 2014 had slowed down the pace of the project. However, as soon as Bhujbal became the Minister, this project got a boost again. The Devanacha Action Committee and the beneficiary farmers had staged several agitations to draw the attention of the government. The project will irrigate 358 hectares of land in Rahadi, Kharwandi, and Devdari villages.
The indirect beneficiaries are residents of Bharam, Kolam Khurd, and Kolam Budruk villages. The problem of irrigation will solve by increasing the groundwater level in this shivar. Water will get revived in the hilly areas that have been suffering from severe drought for a very long time. This will be the biggest project in Yeola taluka.
The project has got a boost as Guardian Minister Chhagan Bhujbal himself has paid attention to this. On 20th January 2014, through the efforts of the then Water Resources Minister Sunil Tatkare and the Guardian Minister Chhagan Bhujbal, the Institute of Hydrology, Nashik had given a certificate of a capacity of 65 Mcft (1840 thousand cubic meters) for this project.
Bhagwatrao Sonawane, Chairman of the Action Committee had obtained the certificate by arguing based on overflow meter gauge details, the capacity of the proposed projects.
