Additional Agenda Item No. 1

Diversion of 172.468 ha of forest land in favour of Executive Engineer, Minor Irrigation Division, Nasik for Kikvi drinking water project, District , in the State of .

F. No. 8-28/2013-FC

1. The State Government of Maharashtra vide its letter dated FLD-1513/CR-68/F-10 dated 14.03.2013 submitted a proposal to obtain prior approval of Central Government under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 for diversion of 172.468 ha of forest land for Kikvi drinking water project, District Nashik, Maharashtra. 2. The scheme of Kikvi Drinking water Project Bramhanawada Tal Trimbakeshwar Dist Nashki is administratively approved for Rs. 28354.23 lakhs vide Govt. order no. (Marathi) letter No. Govt. Resolution No. Kikvi/2009/(273/09) WRE Mantralaya Mumbai-400032 dated 26.08.2009.The scheme is to be constructed for storage & diversion East flowing 2484.74 Mcft.(TCM) water in to river Godavari, for fulfilling the storage of Gangapur Medium Project in Nashik. Gangapur Medium Project is not stored their full reservoir capacity since last several years, because stacking the silt. In feature the population of Nashik Muncipal area will be increase. 3. The scheme includes construction of earthen & concrete dam having 1350 m length average height of 42.12 meters.This site is ideal for drinking water project as the lands coming under submergence are jirayat land except some paddy lands. There is no other suitable site available other than this site on DS or US sides, hence this site is finally selected. 4. The facts of the proposal as contained in the State Government letter are given below: FACT SHEET 1. Name of the proposal Diversion of 172.468 ha of forest land for Kikvi drinking water project, District Nashik, Maharashtra. 2 Location (i) State Maharashtra (ii) District Nashik 3. Particulars of Forests. (i) Name of forest Forest Division (West) Nashik Division (ii) Forest area involved. West Division Nashik : 172.46.8 ha (iii) Legal status Reserved Forest (iv) Map Toposheet at p-57-68/c DGPS map have not been enclosed. 4. (i) Vegetation Bar, Toran, Acacia auriculiformis, Ficus racemsa, Eucalyptus globulus, Borguti, Mangifira Indica, Syzygium cumini, Bauhinia racemosa tamk, varas, Butea monosperma, Urena lobatu ssp. Anacardium occidentale, etc. (ps. 211-219/c).

(ii) Density 0.40 & above.

(iii) No. of trees to be felled Level Submergence Total FRL R.L. (from R.L. 140 689 50 M 687.50 to 689.50) F.R.L.-2 R.L. (from R.L. 196 687.50 M 685.50 to 687.50) F.R.L.-4 (Upto R.L. 1624 R.L. 685.50 685.50) M Grand total Nos. 1960 Nos. 5. Brief note on vulnerability The project area of West Nashik Division falls in of forest area to erosion Chief Conservator, Nashik Region working circle. Hilly area, not sensitive for erosion. 6. Approximate distance of Adjacent to the forest. proposal site for diversion from boundary of forest 7. Whether forms part of No. Certificate attached on page No. 126/c National park, Wildlife Sanctuary, Biosphere Reserve, Tiger Reserve, Elephant Corridor, etc. (if so, details of the area and comments of the Chief Wildlife Warden 8. Whether the area is No significant from wildlife point of view 9. Whether any No. Any rare/endangered / unique species of flora rare/endangered unique and fauna found in the area. species of flora and faura found in the area. If so details thereof. 10. Whether any protected No. Certificate attached on page 117/c archaeological/ heritage site/ Defence establishment or any other important monument is located in the area. 11. Whether any work in No any work in violation of the act has been carried violation of Act has been out. Certificate attached on page. 122/c. carried out 12. Whether the requirement The requirement of forest land as proposed by the of forest land as proposed user agency in col. 2 of part-I is unavoidable and by the user agency is barest minimum for the project. unavailable and barest minimum for the project. If no, recommended area item wise with details of alternatives examined. 13. Compensatory Afforestation (i) Details of non-forest Sr. Name of Tal. & Gut Total area/degraded forest area No village Dist. No. area in identified for CA, its . ha distance from adjoining 1. Dongargaon Yeola 116 6.81 forest, number of patches, 241 3.93 size of each patches. 2. Kolam Bk Nashik 108 10.0 3. Kolam Kh 120 38.28 4. Bharam 168 5.93 5. Angulgaon 158 23.44 6. Ankute 543 10.00 7. Savkhede 13 7.14 8. Jaydare 51 5.85 53 5.00 54 19.67 77 7.56 96 11.92 9. Bhulegaon 56 15.78 63 15.69 64 1.52 80 15.60 204.12

Taluka – Yeola District – Nashik Aarea – 204.12 ha 17 No. of patches adjoining to forest area. (ii) Map showing non- Enclosed on page Nos. 61-69/c forest/degraded forest area identified for CA and adjoining forest boundaries. (iii) Detailed CA scheme Species: Neem, Sisoo, Shiras, Chinch, Karan, etc. including species to be Agency: Deputy Conservator of Forests, West planted, implementing Division, Nashik. agency, time schedule, Time Schedule: Soon after the project authority cost structure, etc. deposit the amount. Detail estimate (Rs. 2,69,447/- per ha) is enclosed on page no. 454-465/c) (iv) Total financial outlay for Rs. 4,64,70,988/- page No. 454/c. CA (v) Certificate from the No. Certificate attached on page no. 123/c. competent authority regarding suitability of the area identified for CA and from management point of view. 14. Site inspection report of Enclosed on page no. 150-156/c. the D.C.F. (to be enclosed) 15. Division/district profile. (i) Geographical area of 15530 Sq.km the district (ii) Forest area of the 342526.894 ha district. (iii) Total forest area No. of cases – 144 Nos. diverted since 1980 Area diverted – 667.487 ha. with number of cases. (iv) Total CA stipulated in 1930.302 ha the district /division since 1980 (a) forest Land 1330.884 ha (b) Non forest land 599.418 ha

(v) Progress of CA (a) Forest land 804.564 ha (b) Non forest land 467.767 ha 16. Rehabilitation of oustees No displacement of people in this project. Rehabilitation plan – Not applicable. 17. CAT Plan The project authority has given a detailed CAT plan which is enclosed of the project proposal. 18. Cost benefit ratio. Not applicable as the scheme is drinking water scheme. 19. Employment likely 12,98,500 Man days. generated. 20. Project cost Rs. 28354.23 lakhs (Total) 21. Recommendation (i) DFO Recommended (p-49/c) (ii) CCF Recommended (p-50/c) (iii) PCCF Specific recommendation of PCCF(HOFF) Maharashtra, Nagar (p-52-54/c) (iv) State Government Recommended (p-55/c)

4. Other Remarks

The location of the project is as given below:

Village Taluka and Gut No. Legal Status Area in ha District

Brahmanw Tal 165P, 187, 299P, 300P, 301, Reserved 88.68 ade Trimbakeshwar, 302, 303, 304, 305P, 309P, Forest Dist. Nashik 313P, 315, 316, 317P, 319P, 325P, 339P, 340P, 341P, 342P, 343, 344P,348P, 349, 351, 353

Talwade 90P, 94P, 96, 98, 100, 101P, 83.788 102P, 103P, 104, 105, 106P, Trimbak 107P, 108P, 118P, 131P, 132P, 136P, 139P, 140P, 141P, 142P, 143P, 144P, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149

Total area 172.468 ha

6. This scheme will divert west flowing water in Godavari (East flowing) basin Kikvi drinking water project constructed in Godavari basin. This project will provide drinking water to Nashik Municipal Corporation, Nashik. This project does not involve displacement of people and there is no rehabilitation or do not require any raw material from forest area. This scheme includes construction of earthern and concrete dam having 1350 M length average height of 42.12 meters. 7. The scheme is to be constructed for storage and diversion of East flowing 2484.74 Meft (Tem) water in to river Godavari, for fulfilling the storage of Gangapur Medium Project in Nashik, which was not stored to its full reservoir capacity since last several years, because of stacking of the silt. Employment likely to generated from this project is 12,98,500 Man days. 8. Collector, Nashik has certified that, no alternate alignment is possible and the forest land required is the barest minimum. 9. The project involves felling of 1960 trees of various species and girth class. Number of trees in FRL 140, FRL-2=196 and FRL-4=1624 trees. The girth wise break up is as under:-

15/30 31/45 46/60 61/90 91/105 106/120 121/150 151/200 Total

860 419 172 219 71 61 91 67 1960

10. The project authority has given a detailed CAT plan which is enclosed with the project proposal. 11. The project authority has submitted an undertaking to defray the cost of Net Present Value of the forest land proposed under diversion. 12. The project authority has partially fulfilled the compliance under the Schedule Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Right) Act, 2006. The compliance is not in proper format. 13. PCCF recommended the proposal with specific recommendations at ps. 6-7/c.

Recommendation of the Regional APCCF(C), Bhopal :

The Site Inspection Report has been submitted by the Regional Office, wherein site inspection has been inspected by the Addl. CCF(Central), Bhopal on 02.06.2013 as under:-

1. Legal status of forest land proposed for diversion: Reserved Forest Area – 172.468 ha 2. How the land proposed for diversion is to be utilized? : Entire forest land of 172.468 ha is required for submergence. 3. Whether the proposal involves any construction of buildings (including residential) or not? If yes, details thereof: There will be no construction of any buildings. 4. Total cost of the project at present rates: Rs. 28354.23 lakhas. 5. Wildlife: Whether forest area proposed for diversion is important from wildlife point of view or not: No 6. Aerial distance from the nearest boundary of any Protected Area: There is no protected area within 10 kms radius from the forest land proposed for diversion. 7. Vegetation: a) Total number of trees to be felled:

Total number of trees proposed to be felled : 1960 Number of trees to be felled of girth below 60 cm : 1270 Number of trees to be felled of girth above 60 cm : 681

About 400 trees coming within FRL and FRL minus four meters need not be felled as they are not likely to be affected by the water levels that will remain for two to three and a half months only. b) Effect of removal of trees on the general ecosystem in the area: There will be no ill effect of removal of these trees in the submergence area. In fact storage of water in the reservoir will have positive impact on the general ecosystem of the area in terms of better and diverse vegetation in the area surrounding the reservoir. Most of the vegetation in the submergence area is stunted and badly pruned and lopped by the local population for fodder and fuel purpose.

Important species: Butea monosperma, Terminalia crenulata, Mangifera indica, Ficus racemosa, Acacia intcia, Bauhinia racemosa, Anacardium occidentale, Acacia auroculiformis, Syzygim cumini, Phyllanths emblica, Bambusa vulgaris, Aegle marmelos, Eucalyptus globulus, Madhuca indica, Tamarindus indica etc.

8. Background note on the proposal: The project has been initiated by Executive Engineer, Minor Irrigation Division, Sinchan Bhavan, Satpr Road, Nashik for Kikvi drinking water project in district Nashik. This cheme will divert west flowing water in Godavari (East flowing) basin Kikvi Drinking Water Project constructead in Godavari basin. This project will provides drinking water to Nashik Municipal Corporation, Nashik. 9. Compensatory afforestation: a. Whether land proposed/selected for compensatory afforestation is suitable from plantation and management point of view? Yes. b. Whether land for compensatory afforestation is free from encroachments and other encumbrances? Yes c. Whether land for compensatory afforestation is important from religious or archaeological point of view? No d. Land identified for raising compensatory afforestation is in how many patches?Whether patches are compact or not? Total 204.12 ha land identified in 17 patches adjoining to forest area of Yeola Taluka in . e. Map with details:– Maps enclosed with proposal. f. Compensatory afforestation area should be clearly shown on the map, patch wise and their contiguity to the forest area etc.: Yes. g. Total financial outlay of ten year CA programme: Rs. 4,64,70,988/-

10. Whether the proposal involves any violation of Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980? If yes, a detailed report on violation including action taken against the concerned officials: No 11. Whether the proposal involves rehabilitation of displaced persons.If yes, whether rehabilitation plan has been approved by the State Government?:Not applicable. 12. Reclamation plan:Details and financial allocation: Not applicable. 13. Details on catchment and command area under the project.Catchment area treatment plan to prevent siltation of reservoir: The catchments area of this project is hilly and good catchment’s involves 81% non-forest land and 19% of forest. Due to storage reservoir the general temperature of the surrounding area will come down. Due to storage reservoir there will be possibility of tree growth. 14. Cost benefit ratio: Being a drinking water project, cost benefit ratio is not applicable. 15. Utility of the project: Numbers of Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribes to be benefited by the project: The user agency has informed that the following number of persons will benefit from the drinking water scheme:

Scheduled cast : 3,32,567 Nos. Scheduled Tribes : 1,04,188 Nos. 16. Whether land being diverted has any socio-cultural/religious value? Whether any sacred grove or very old growth trees/forests exist in the areas proposed for diversion? No 17. Recommendations of the Nodal Officer/PCCF and the State Government: The PCCF and the State Government have recommended the proposal for approval. 18. Any other information related to the project: Pictures taken during site inspection of the area are enclosed to have an idea of the vegetation and other aspects of the forest area. 19. a) Regional Addl. Principal Chief Conservator of Forests shall give detailed comments on whether there are any alternative routers/alignment for locating the project: The user agency has provided the following information in support of the location of the project at this site.

i) The Kikvi Drinking Water Supply Project has been designed to supply Drinking Water to the city of Nashik & its surrounding areas where the population & the industrial development are growing at high pace. The project is designed to successfully supply 35 mm3 of drinking water every year for next hundred years or so after its completion. The reservoir capacity has been designed after conducting simulation studies of the basin & it is found that required volume of water can only be stored at the present location only therefore it is necessary to construct the dam project at the present location only. ii) There is no other location available for construction of Kikvi Drinking Water Supply Project as there are some existing projects on the upstream & Downstream of Kikvi project, any alternate location of Kikvi project will affect the existing projects. iii) While finalising the present location of Kikvi project cost effectiveness is also the criteria, the project location is situated in a narrow gorge which helps in substantially reducing length of the dam which ultimately result in cost saving. iv) During the inspection you must have observed that, even though the land of 172.468 hectors belong to the forest department goes under submergence, but in fact there are only 1960 trees in the area of 172.468 hectors that will be required to be removed thus, the density of trees to the land area is very less. v) The forest land being submerged in Kikvi Project is located on either sides of river bank thus, there is no possibility of any alternate land other than forest land which can be utilised for the Kikvi Drinking Water Supply Project.

c) Recommendations of the Regional Addl. Principal Chief Conservator of Forests along with details reasons: i) No construction of buildings is involved in the project. ii) Number of trees involved for felling is low. Only 1564 trees that fall below the FRL minus four level need to be felled. iii) During the field visit it was felt that the vegetation and wildlife in the surrounding areas of the reservoir would improve after the project becomes operational. iv) This is project for supply of water to Nashik city and therefore it needs to be encouraged. v) It is clean project. No pollution of any kind is expected from this project. vi) The project will generate employment of to the tune of lakhs of Mondays. The user agency has provided 204.12 ha (against 172.468 ha of forest land proposed for diversion) of non-forest land for compensatory afforestation and prepared a detailed scheme for implementation of the same over a period of ten years at a cost of Rs. 4.647 crore. CONSIDERATION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE PROPOSAL BY THE FAC 1. The proposal was considered by the Forest Advisory Committee in its meeting held on 11th and 12th July, 2013 and the Committee after detailed discussion on the proposal recommended that following clarification/documents shall be sought from the State government before further consideration of the proposal by the Committee:- i. Detailed study be conducted by the State government through reputed institution to assess the present and future requirement of the water for drinking, irrigation and other purposes vis-à-vis the availability of sources. A detailed integrated plan should also be submitted to meet up the future requirement of water which may include feasibility study for desilting Gangapurdam. ii. Requisite documents for compliance under Scheduled Tribe & other Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, as per MoEF’s guidelines dated 03.08.2009 and 05th February, 2013. iii. Details of R &R Plan for rehabilitation of population whose agricultural land will be submerged due to the project. iv. DGPS maps of the forest land proposed to be diverted. 2. The recommendation of the FAC were communicated to the State Government vide this Ministry’s letter dated 31 July, 2013. The State Government of Maharashtra vide their letter No. FLD-1513/CR-68/F-10 dated 07.08.2013 have submitted the compliance of shortcomings/deficiencies in the proposal as the Forest Advisory Committee observed in its meeting on 11th and 12th July, 2013. Clarification submitted by the State Government are given as below: S. Deficiency/Shortcoming Compliance No. 1. Detailed study be conducted Maharashtra Water Resources Regulatory by the state Government Authority has given approval to the proposed through reputed institution to Kikvi drinking water project after considering it in assess the present and future detail and drinking water requirement of Nashik requirement of the water for City in the future. (Reference copy of approval is drinking, irrigation and other attached herewith) purposes vis-à-vis the availability of sources. A There are four projects in the Gangapur Dam detailed integrated plan group, namely Gangapur, kashyapi, Gautami- should also be submitted to godawari and proposed kikvi. meet up the future requirement of water which Storage of above Dams:- may include feasibility study for desilting Gangapurdam. Gangapur -159.42 Mcum./5.62 TMC Kashyapi -52.44 Mcum./1.84 TMC Gautami-Godawari -53.32 Mcum./1.87 TMC Proposed Kikvi -43.75 Mcum./1.54 TMC

Total -308.93 Mcum./10.87 TMC

The requirements for the year 2011-12 are as below:

N.M.C. Drinking water - 104.43 Mcum. M.I.D.C Nasik & other - 071.32 Mcum. Irrigation - 133.18 Mcum.

Total - 308.93 Mcum.

The proposed requirements for the year 2020-21

N.M.C Drinking water - 150.65 Mcum. M.I.D.C Nasik & other - 071.81 Mcum. Irrigation - 086.47 Mcum.

Total - 308.93 Mcum.

As the requirement of drinking water will be increased up to year 2021, water requirement for Irrigation is curtailed to meet the requirement of drinking water, Industrial purposes etc.

The Gangapur dam is constructed in the year 1954. The reduction of storage due to silt deposition is 43.75 Mcum. As per silt study done by M.E.R.I., Nasik in the year 2002. The above statistics show that the requirement of water for Nasik city is growing consecutively. Hence it is necessary to construct the Proposed kikvi project to meet out the requirement. The sanction is accorded to this project by Hon’ble Government of Maharashtra. And this project is administratively approved by Government of Maharashtra.

It is not feasible to remove 43.75 Mcum of silt from Gangapur Dam, because nearly about 2187.50 ha of land is required for disposing the removed silt at an average height of 2.00 m stack and at the downstream sides urban locality is situated upto 08 Kms distance. The cost of land is very high, as well as the possibility of availability of such huge area of land near Nashik City is nearly impossible. Cost of land is Rs. 76.00 lac/ha on the downstream side of Gangapur Dam hence total cost of land for depositing silt will be (218788.50 x 75.00) = Rs. 1640.63 Cr. Excavation & carting for silt amounting is Rs. 572.25 Cr. (Rate of removal silt Rs. 130.80/Cum. For 5 km lead) hence total cost of Desilting is Rs. 2212.88 Cr. (1640.63 + 572.25) and that too subject to availability of 2187.50 ha of land.

On the other hand only 933.99 ha of land is required for entire Kikvi project. It is comparatively much cheaper that the land required for stacking the silt. Also it is barren land & total cost of the project is Rs. 553.92 Cr. Which is much lesser than Rs. 2212.87 Cr. 2. Requisite documents for It was enclosed in the original proposal for compliance under Scheduled diversion of forest land page. 57A, 57B, 57C & Tribe 7 other Forest Dwellers 57D (P 104-107/c) which was submitted to (Recognition of Forest Ministry of Environment & Forest Paryavaran Rights) Act, 2006, as per Bhawan, new Delhi. Copy of the same is attached MoEF’s guidelines dated herewith for your reference. 03.08.2009 and 05th February, 2013 3. Details of R&R Plan for There is no village coming under submergence of rehabilitation of population this project 933.99 ha of land (761.522 private whose agricultural land will land and 172.468 ha forest land) is required for be submerged due to the construction and submergence of this project. project. However section 11(1), and Section 13 (3) of Maharashtra rehabilitation Act, 1999 are published in Gazette of Government of Maharashtra dated 24.12.2009 & 11.03.2010 respectively. The compensation of land will be paid to the affected persons as per provisions of Land Acquisition, Act, 1894. The procedure of calculating the amount of compensation is in progress with Sp. Land Aqui. Officer, Minor Irrigation, Nashik, Rs. 3.33 crores are deposited with the S.L.A. Officer, as advance amount towards compensation. 4. DGPs maps of the forest land It was submitted to Ministry of Environment & proposed to be diverted. Forests, Paryavaran Bhawan, new Delhi vide letter No. outward No. MIDN/Kikvi Land/3284/ of 2013 dated 29.06.2013 (p 546-551/c)

3. However, examination of clarification submitted by the State Government revealed that concern regarding ‘detailed study to be conducted through reputed institution to assess present and future requirement of water for drinking, irrigation and other purposes vis-a- vis the availability of sources and feasibility study for desiltingGangapur Dam’ were not addressed aptly and accordingly, the State Government was requested on 4th September, 2013 to address the concerns raised by the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) in its meeting held on 11th and 12th July, 2013. 4. The State Government of Maharashtra vide its letter dated 8th October, 2013 has submitted the following: Study on present and Future requirement of Water i. Detailed study for water availability for Kikvi Dam Project vis-a-vis the availability of has been conducted by the Chief Engineer, Hydrology, State Government of Maharashtra in the year 2009. Further, the State Government has reported that present and future drinking water requirement of Nasik Municipal Corporation area has been conducted by the Municipal Corporation through an independent agency and the chef engineer considered all such reports and conducted the study on water requirement and available sources. ii. The water resource Department, Government of Maharashtra had established a Hydrology project at Nashik in November, 1995 under the aegis of World Bank with an objective to develop sustainable hydrological information system for the participating 13 states and 8 Central agencies including Maharashtra State. The information generated is being tuned to the requirement of decision/policy makers and researchers. Participating agencies in the Hydro Project included Maharashtra State Government, Ministry of Water Resources, Government of , Central Water Commission, Central Ground Water Board, National Institute of Hydrology. In this background the State Government has advocated that the study as recommended by the FAC, has already been carried out by the State Government with the help of reputed agencies. iii. The State Government has further submitted that proposal under question was submitted to the Maharashtra Water Resource Regulatory Authority, Mumbai (MWRRA) for its approva, MWRRA is a statutory authority in India established by the Government of Maharashtra in pursuance of clause (3) of article 348 of the Constitution of India. The Kikvi project is thoroughly studied by the MWRRA, a most distinguished and competent authority for the irrigation projects. Hence, conduction of fresh study on the same issue will cost time and further burden of unwarranted expenditure to the State Exchequer. The State Government has accordingly, requested to consider the report submitted by the Chief Engineer, Hydrology Project, Government of Maharashtra. Highlights of the report has been given under para 2 above. Feasibility of de-silting the Gangapur Dam The State Government has reported that Gangapur Dam was constructed in the year 1954 and as per the study conducted by the Maharashtra Engineering Research Institute (MEERI) in the year 2002, siltation in the dam strands at 43.75 Mcum. De- siltation of the said dam is not feasible in view of the fact that cost of excavation and carting of silt is 572.25 crores and nearly 2187 ha of land will be required for dumping the silt upto a height of 2 meters. Hence, the cost of land (Approx. Rs. 1640.63 crores) required staking and depositing silt will be very high as well as availability of such huge area of land near Nasik City is nearly impossible. On the other hand only 933.99 ha of land is required for Kikvi project which is most economically viable rather than removal of silt from the Gangapur dam. 5. The above report/justification furnished by the State Government was considered by the FAC in its meeting held on FAC on 17th to 18th October, 2013 and after detailed deliberation on the proposal, the Committee desired that following information may be furnished by the State Government: i. The State Government may clarify whether this is exclusively a drinking water project or drinking water cum irrigation project .They should provide the detailed project report (DPR) to examine whether the project is for drinking water alone or for irrigation too .In case the project is a medium irrigation project, environment clearance will also be required under Environment (P) Act 1986. ii. The State Government will also place the report of the Maharashtra Water Resources Regulatory Authority (MWRRA) of Water Resources Department Government of Maharashtra on its website for comments of all the stakeholders. 6. The above recommendations of the FAC were communicated to the State Government vide this Ministry’s letter of even number dated 13.11.2013. 7. The State Government of Maharashtra, vide their letter no. FLD-1513/CR-68/F-10 dated 9.01.2014 complied with the observations made by the FAC. Reply submitted by the State Government is summarized as under: i. The State Government has reported that Kikvi project envisages construction of a dam having length of 1280 m with gross storage capacity of 70.36 Mm3 and live storage of 60.02 Mm3. The annual utilization of 60.02 Mm3 is for Nashik Municipal Corporation. This project has been proposed in order to meet the future water demand of Nashik city and to compensate the shortage in the storage capacity of the Gangapur Project due to siltation. (Copy of DPR is enclosed along with the certified translated copies of content in Marathi). It is further mentioned by the State Government that project is exclusively a drinking water supply project and no irrigation is proposed from the reservoirs. Environmental Clearance is not necessary for the project in view of the Ministry of Environment and forest’s letter No. J-12011/56/2008/IA dated 03.12.20085. ii. The State Government has also reported that as per the DPR (page 17) under the head “B-Land” that the forest land required for this project is 207.47 ha. However, while conducting joint measurement with officials of Land Records, Forest Department & Water Resources Department, the actual forest area required worked out to be 172.468 ha. Accordingly, the proposal for diversion of 172.468 ha of forest land has been submitted by the Water Resources Department. iii. The State Government also indicated that regarding the issue of placing the report of the Maharashtra Water Resources Regulatory Authority (MWRRA) on the website of the Water Resource Department for the comments of the stakeholders, a communication was made to the MWRRA on 03.12.2013. The Memorandum of Clearance order of MWRRA dated 10.06.2009 has been uploaded on Water Resource Department, Government of Maharashtra’s website. iv. The State Government referring to the above, has requested that proposal may be submitted to the FAC as the it will create additional source of drinking water supply to growing demand of Nashik City. In view of the above, if approved, the proposal may be placed before the FAC in its meeting forthcoming meeting.

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