| Kandi Canal |
|---|
|
| Length | 32 km (20 miles)
(Planned length) |
|---|
| Status | Stalled (as of 2024) |
|---|
| Navigation authority | Irrigation and Flood Control Department, Jammu and Kashmir |
|---|
|
| Modern name | Kandi Canal Project |
|---|
| Original owner | Government of Jammu and Kashmir |
|---|
| Date of act | 2007 |
|---|
| Construction began | 2008 |
|---|
|
| Start point | Kagunegad nallah (tributary of Chenab River) |
|---|
The Kandi Canal Medium Irrigation Project, also known as Kandi Canal Project, is a medium-scale irrigation canal project located in Thathri tehsil, Doda district, Jammu and Kashmir, India. The project aims to provide irrigation to agricultural lands by constructing a 32-kilometer canal to lift water from the Kalgoni nallah, a tributary of the Chenab River. [1] Approved in 2007 by the Planning Commission of India with an initial cost of ₹53.7 crore, the project has faced significant delays and cost escalations, reaching ₹136 crore by 2015 due to disputes and abandonment of work. [2] [3]
History
The project was formally approved by the Planning Commission in 2007 with an estimated cost of ₹53.7 crore. Construction began in 2008 under the supervision of the Irrigation and Flood Control Department of Jammu and Kashmir. [4] However, only 500 meters of the canal were completed before work was halted due to financial disputes between the contractor and the department. The contractor abandoned the project, leading to prolonged litigation. [2] [3]
On 29 August 2011, during a Rajya Sabha session, the Minister of State in the Ministry of Water Resources, Shri Vincent H. Pala, provided an update on the Kandi Canal Project in response to a question by Mr. G. N. Ratanpuri. The minister confirmed that the project, approved in 2007 at a cost of ₹53.70 crore under the Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme (AIBP), had incurred an expenditure of ₹12.37 crore by that time. Although the project aimed to create an irrigation potential of 3,220 hectares, no irrigation potential had been achieved as of the debate date, and the project remained ongoing under the state government's implementation. [5]
By 2015, the project's cost had escalated to ₹136 crore due to the prolonged delay. In July 2015, the Minister for Public Health Engineering (PHE), Irrigation, and Flood Control, Sukhnandan Kumar, reviewed the project's status and directed the department to resume work as per norms. However, shortly afterward, the government considered shelving the project due to its unviable cost-benefit ratio and the escalated cost. A committee led by Secretary Parvez Malik decided to terminate the contract and recover a ₹4 crore mobilization advance from the contractor, which had been improperly disbursed against plant and machinery rather than a bank guarantee. [2] [3]
In October 2024, the Government of Jammu and Kashmir appointed Mr. Jugal Kishore Nagotra, Executive Engineer of the I&FC Division Bhaderwah, as the Officer In-Charge (OIC) Litigation for M/s Mir Associates Construction Company, the contractor for the Kandi Canal Project. This appointment was made to address ongoing litigation in a case titled M/s Mir Associates Construction Company, Government Contractors, General Suppliers Base Camp Kandi Canal Project, Thathri, District Doda Versus Superintending Engineer Hydraulic Circle Doda and another, pending before the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh (Central Administrative Tribunal). The terms of the OIC's role are governed by Government Order No. 1673-JK(LD) of 2021, dated 24 March 2021. [6]
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