PREPARATION OF FEASIBILITY STUDY FOR NAI GAJ DAM PROJECT

The Project envisages construction of a 59 m high dam and appurtenant works on Nai Gaj river in a period of 48 months. The gross storage capacity of the dam would be 0.370 BCM (0.30 MAF) with a life of 40 years. A spillway to cater for a probable maximum flood of 21,103 cumecs (745,360 cusecs) is also part of the design. The Project is designed to irrigate 16,187.45 hectare (40,000 acres) of culturable command area (CCA) either through surface, sprinkler, drip or mixed irrigation system and produce 17 GWh energy from the irrigation releases. The total cost of the dam, appurtenant structures and irrigation system would be Rs. 17,797 million while the cost of development of the command area through surface, sprinkler, drip and mixed irrigation systems would be Rs. 10.80 million, Rs. 2,592 million, Rs. 2,160 million and Rs. 1,728 million respectively. Hence the total base cost of the Project with surface, sprinkler, drip and mixed irrigation systems would be Rs. 17,807.80 million, Rs. 20,389 million, Rs. 19, 957 million and Rs. 19,525 million, respectively.

The combined storage of these reservoirs totals 3.15 MAF, which would irrigate 353,000 acres of land under conventional flood irrigation means while the area under irrigation would rise to approximately 600,000 acres once micro irrigation methods of sprinkler and drip are introduced.