Fadnavis orders faster work on Marathwada Water Grid, JICA likely to fund about Rs 20,000 crore

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has directed that work on the Marathwada Water Grid project be speeded up. He said the preliminary project report should be uploaded immediately and the process of sending it to the Union government's Department of Economic Affairs completed quickly. The project has been described as important for ending Marathwada's water scarcity for good and freeing the region from drought.

The meeting was held at Varsha, the chief minister's official residence in Mumbai. Fadnavis presided, and a high-level discussion was held with a senior delegation from JICA. The meeting also reviewed the Marathwada Water Grid blueprint along with several infrastructure projects being carried out with Japan's cooperation in Maharashtra. About Rs 20,000 crore in financial assistance is expected from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for the project.

Water is not distributed evenly in Marathwada. In view of this, the main aim of the water grid is to carry water from dams that have more of it to dams in dry areas through closed pipelines. A two-way flow system will be set up for this.

The first phase covers four districts: Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Beed, Latur and Dharashiv. In this phase the Jayakwadi, Majalgaon, Manjra, Ujani, Lower Terna and Lower Manar dams will be linked. About 3,095 km of main and secondary pipelines will be laid and 15 water treatment plants built. About one crore people will benefit directly from the project.

The estimated cost of the water grid project for all eight districts is about Rs 25,056 crore. JICA has shown a positive attitude toward lending about Rs 20,000 crore of this for the first phase.

Latur and Dharashiv fall in an earthquake-prone zone. Japan's advanced earthquake-resistant technology will therefore be used in construction, including ductile iron pipes, modern pumping systems and a SCADA system. The project will also help industries in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar's Auric City, Shendra-Bidkin and Waluj industrial areas get a sustainable water supply.

The animation, visual effects, gaming and comics (AVGC) sector was also discussed at the meeting. Several initiatives are under way with Japanese companies and the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies (IICT) to take Maharashtra to the front rank globally in the sector. As part of this, a Manga Caravan will be held in Mumbai in February, and Chief Minister Fadnavis welcomed the initiative.

The appointment of a project management consultant and the preparation of the detailed project report (DPR) will be completed soon with JICA's cooperation. Plans have been made to complete the actual work on the project by 2029.

Fadnavis assured that the state government would further strengthen cooperation with Japan in projects on water, transport, the environment and modern technology, and that all projects would be given every necessary support by the government.

Water Supply and Sanitation Minister Gulabrao Patil, Minister of State Meghna Sakore-Bordikar, the chief minister's Chief Economic Adviser Praveensingh Pardeshi, Additional Chief Secretary of the Water Supply and Sanitation Department Parag Jain Nainutia and Additional Chief Secretary of the Finance Department Vikas Chandra Rastogi were present. Among the other senior officials were Amgothu Naik, member secretary of the Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran, Dr Sanjay Belsare, head of department at MITRA, Hitomi Sato, Consul General of Japan in India, Kenji Takagi, Consul of Japan, and Takuro Takeuchi, chief representative of JICA India office.