“We have not received any proposal from the government about their plan to source water from Tillari irrigation canal for Mopa airport project,” J S Hosamani, Superintending Engineer, GTIDC, told Herald.
Hosamani said that the project aims at providing irrigation requirements of North Goa along with providing water supply for drinking and industrial purpose apart from contemplating Hydel power generation. “There is no such proposal before us that the water would be sourced for Mopa airport project,” he stated.
As per the EIA summary, “Water required for the construction of Mopa airport, which would be done in four phases, will be sourced from Tillari irrigation canal.” The water required for the airport during phase I (2020) will be 1.2 MLD and another 6 MLD would be required beyond 2045 (phase IV) and the same will be sourced from Tillari irrigation canal.
The Tillari irrigation project is a joint venture of the governments of Goa and Maharashtra, with the total cost of the entire project – including the main Tillari dam and the irrigation network (except CAD) – has risen to Rs 1,612.15 crore.
Hosamani said that the Tillari irrigation project, under which 11,166 hectares command area has already been developed in Goa, would be completed by March 2015. However, he said it would take another two years to bring under irrigation 14,521 hectares of land in the three talukas of Pernem, Bicholim and Bardez.
“We have already brought around 5,300 hectares of land under irrigation, while to bring the balance 9,200 hectares it will take two more years,” the officer explained.
The Tillari irrigation project has two main canals, the right bank main canal (RBMC) extending from Tillari to Pernem and the left bank main canal (LBMC) extending from Tillari to Bardez. The RBMC has seven distributaries and almost all are complete.
