Decoding proposed Kosi-Mechi River Link Canal project: Dr. Dinesh Mishra

[Gopal Krishna]

Decoding proposed Kosi-Mechi River Link Canal project: Dr. Dinesh Mishra

Long Awaited Project for Irrigation and Flood Control

Kosi-Mechi link canal has suddenly come into the limelight because after years of waiting, its construction has been announced in this year's central budget. The central government had started seriously considering this river linking scheme long back in 2004, but the Bihar government took the initiative in 2006 and requested the Centre to consider this link. It is said that the construction of this link canal will lead to the development of agriculture in the Kosi-Mechi region. The National Water Development Authority (NWDA) gave the detailed project report of this project to the Bihar government in 2010, which was finally given to the Bihar government after modifications keeping in mind the compliance of the rules of the Central Water Commission and after that, serious consideration began on the implementation of this scheme and now it has got approval of the centre and the path to get funds from the Centre has also opened. With the construction of this project, additional irrigation will start on 2.15 lakh hectares of area in the Kosi-Mechi Doab. After the construction of this link, Araria (69 thousand hectares), Kishanganj (39 thousand hectares), Purnia (69 thousand hectares) and Katihar (35 thousand hectares) districts will get additional irrigation and the dream of solving the flood problem has also begun. It is hoped that with the implementation of this scheme, agricultural production will increase and so will the employment opportunities in the area.

6300 crore scheme

Let us first talk about its cost. The cost of this scheme which was initially Rs. 2,900 crores had increased to Rs. 4,900 crores by the time the final report was received by the Bihar government and now its cost is being said to be around Rs. 6,300 crores. The Centre has suggested that it will bear 60 percent of the total cost of the project and the state will have to bear the rest 40 percent. Bihar hopes that the Centre should contribute 90 percent of the amount to the state and the state will bear the rest. It is also said that the Centre can suggest giving 30 percent of the amount to the state as a loan. This entire matter is still being said to be under consideration. In this scheme, the Eastern Kosi Main Canal EKMC (present length 41.30 km) will be extended by 76.2 km and merged with the Mechi river which will have the benefit of reducing the flow of the Kosi to some extent. At the end of the canal, only 27 cumec water will be released into the Mechi river, which may provide some relief from floods in the Kosi valley. This report assumes that the Kosi and Mechi will never flood simultaneously, but if by chance it happens, then the usefulness of the plan, as far as floods are concerned,  will be under question. We are sure that the scholars who made the plan must have thought about this situation.

The project report also suggests that the extent of irrigation between the Kosi-Mechi Doab  is possible only during the Kharif (rainy) season but for the seasons of Garma (hot weather) and Rabi (winter crop), it will only be possible after the construction of the Kosi High Dam in Nepal. It must be remembered that the proposal for a dam on the Kosi was made in 1937 and the negotiations for its construction are still on between the Government of India and Nepal where the site of the dam is located 56 km north from the Indo-Nepal border at Birpur in India.