Gandhinagar: The Gujarat government has approved a Rs 1,331.30 crore lift irrigation project to provide water for agriculture in 46 villages across the tribal talukas of Kaprada and Dharampur in Valsad district, where the terrain has limited access to conventional canal irrigation.
Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has granted administrative approval to the Daman-Ganga Lift Irrigation Project, which aims to bring 17,000 hectares of farmland under irrigation by lifting water from the Madhuban Reservoir and transporting it across the hilly terrain.
The project is in the final stage before commencement, according to the government statement.
The upland areas of Kaprada and Dharampur have long faced water shortages despite the availability of water in the nearby reservoir. Unlike the lower coastal plains of South Gujarat, which benefit from gravity-fed canal networks, these elevated areas lie above the existing canal distribution system.
Farmers have consequently depended heavily on groundwater, restricting the scope for multiple cropping.
The state government’s Narmada Water Resources, Water Supply and Kalpsar Department commissioned feasibility studies and engineering assessments to identify a suitable route.
After evaluating several alternatives, Alternative-3 was selected for the project. The planned pipeline network will comprise a main trunk line of approximately 53 km and more than 188 km of branch and feeder lines.
It will transport water across elevations ranging from 65 metres to 382 metres above mean sea level. The system will use three pumping stations, with the first to be built on government land near Fatehpura village, close to the Madhuban Dam.
Water will then be lifted through intermediate pumping stations at Burvad and near Kistoniya. The combined pumping capacity will be 56,400 kW, equivalent to 75,600 horsepower.
Break pressure tanks near Kaprada village will regulate pressure at higher elevations, allowing water to move through downstream branch networks by gravity towards Dharampur.
The project will have a total supply capacity of 500 cusecs and operate on a 15-day rotational schedule across two zones during a planned annual operating period of 100 days.
Zone 1 will cover 28 villages in Kaprada taluka, with a peak demand of 320 cusecs, while Zone 2 will serve 17 villages across Kaprada and Dharampur, with an allocation of 180 cusecs.
Lifted water will be discharged into 26 village ponds and 81 check dams rather than being distributed exclusively through direct field-level channels. The system is expected to support groundwater recharge and improve water availability during critical stages of crop growth.
A dedicated discharge of 1.5 cusecs into the Kangvi River near Barumal village is also planned.
According to the project’s hydrological assessment, the Madhuban Reservoir has maintained close to full capacity in recent years and is considered capable of supplying the required 122.33 million cubic metres of water annually without affecting existing domestic or regional allocations.
The project will also incorporate a central Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system to monitor water flows and manage pipeline pressure in real time.
Once operational, the scheme is expected to improve irrigation access, support multiple cropping and reduce dependence on groundwater in the tribal farming areas of Valsad district.
–IANS–
