10 March 2026,
Tuesday
10 March 2026,
Tuesday
29KM Canal To Be Built In Bundi: The construction of the remaining 29-kilometre canal of the Gararda Medium Irrigation Project will begin at a cost of ₹70 crore.
The department has initiated the tender process for this. If all goes well, the canal construction will commence before the monsoon.
The 29-kilometre stretch of the canal was stalled for several years due to it falling within the forest department's land.
The Forest Department had stipulated a condition for issuing a No Objection Certificate (NOC), requiring the construction of a 6-foot high wall on both ends of the 29-kilometre canal, which was estimated to cost around ₹60 crore. However, the Public Health Engineering Department requested the Forest Department to reconsider this condition, stating that ₹60 crore would be difficult to arrange. Following this, senior officials of the Forest Department reviewed the condition. Subsequently, the Forest Department proposed the construction of a footbridge every 500 metres along the 29-kilometre forest stretch of the canal, to which the Water Resources Department agreed.
After the Water Resources Department's agreement, the Forest Department issued the NOC in January 2026. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla played a significant role in obtaining the NOC. Officials from the Water Resources Department stated that tenders have been invited from contractors for the construction work, and these tenders will be opened in April. The 29-kilometre stretch of both the right and left main canals was passing through forest land, which had halted the construction. The rest of the construction has been completed.
Upon completion of the canal construction, the project will provide irrigation facilities to farmers in approximately 44 villages. The Water Resources Department estimates that after the canal construction is finished, farmers will receive water from the canal, enabling irrigation of 9181 hectares of land. Farmers will benefit from timely water availability for their crops.
The Gararda Medium Irrigation Project was initiated 23 years ago with an initial cost of ₹81 crore. By the time the project reached its final stages, the cost had escalated to ₹424 crore. The project commenced in September 2003. The construction work was initially scheduled for completion in 2010, but the dam broke on August 15, 2010, causing a delay of approximately 8 years for recommencement. The construction of the broken section of the dam was completed in 2021. However, water has been impounded in the dam for the past four years.
The total length of the right and left main canals of the Gararda Medium Irrigation Project is 103 kilometres, of which 74 kilometres of the canal have been constructed. The construction work was stalled due to the 29-kilometre canal section falling within forest department land. Work on this section will now commence.
The No Objection Certificate from the Forest Department for the canal construction work has been received in January. The tender will be opened in April, after which the work will begin. Farmers will soon be able to receive canal water from the dam.
Narendra Singh, Junior Engineer, Gararda Medium Irrigation Project
Bundi. MLA Harimohan Sharma raised the issue of the Gararda Drinking Water and Irrigation Project in the Assembly under Rule 295. Sharma stated in the House that due to obstructions from the Forest Department in the previously sanctioned Gararda Drinking Water Project of ₹238 crore and the Gararda Dam Irrigation Project of ₹424 crore in the Bundi assembly constituency, people are not receiving drinking water and irrigation water.
Although the construction of the dam was completed two years ago, farmers are not benefiting from the project because the canal construction has not proceeded due to the Forest Department's objections. Similarly, drinking water from the Gararda Drinking Water Project is also not yet available to the public. A demand has been raised for the immediate resolution of the problem.
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