Fadnavis pushes Marathwada Water Grid, JICA signals about Rs 20,000 crore in loans

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has directed that the Marathwada Water Grid project be speeded up. He said the project is important for finding a lasting solution to Marathwada's water scarcity and making the region drought-free. He asked that the project's preliminary report be uploaded immediately and that action to send it to the Department of Economic Affairs of the Union government be completed quickly.

The directions were given at a high-level meeting at Varsha, the Chief Minister's official residence in Mumbai. The meeting was held with a senior delegation of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and chaired by Fadnavis. It reviewed the water grid blueprint along with several infrastructure projects being carried out with Japanese cooperation in Maharashtra. JICA is due to provide financial assistance of about Rs 20,000 crore for the ambitious project.

Water is not distributed evenly in Marathwada. The main aim of the water grid is therefore to carry water through closed pipelines from dams with surplus water to dams in drought-hit areas. A twin-flow arrangement will be put in place for this.

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

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

Latur and Dharashiv lie in an earthquake-prone zone, so Japan's advanced earthquake-resistant technology will be used in construction. This will include ductile iron pipes, modern pumping systems and a SCADA system. Industries in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar's Auric City, Shendra-Bidkin and Waluj industrial areas will also get a sustainable water supply from the project.

The appointment of a project management consultant and the preparation of the detailed project report (DPR) will be completed soon with JICA's cooperation. The project has been planned with a view to completing the actual work by 2029.

The meeting also touched on the animation, visual effects, gaming and comics (AVGC) sector. With Japanese companies and the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies (IICT), an initiative is under way to take Maharashtra to the forefront globally in this sector. As part of it, 'Manga Caravan' will be held in Mumbai in February, which Fadnavis welcomed.

Fadnavis assured that the state government would strengthen cooperation with Japan on water, transport, environment and modern technology projects, and that all projects would get every necessary support from the government.

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