Questions over Goa project

After a ten-year delay in completion, questions are now being raised about the feasibility of the Tillari Irrigation Project.

After a ten-year delay in completion, questions are now being raised about the feasibility of the Tillari Irrigation Project.

On Friday, Chief Minister Pratapsinh Rane released water from the Tillari project into the Left Bank Main Canal that enters Goa at Dodamarg. The project is a joint venture of the Maharashtra and Goa governments.

But questions are being raised about the project’s feasibility. At the function, Goa Planning Commission vice-president Ramakant Khalap alleged: “The cost has gone up from 100 crore to 1000 crore.” And this, he accused, was due to delays by the Parrikar government.

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But the cost, it appears, is even more than what Khalap claims. Opposition leader Manohar Parrikar alleged that the actual cost of the Tillari project is Rs 1500 crore. “I have always said this project is a white elephant and not a necessity.” A cost-benefit analysis prepared by Parrikar’s government had indicated that more funding for the project would not yield enough returns.

According to Parrikar, 35 per cent of the land meant to benefit from the project is not under cultivation any more. The project was meant to irrigate 17,000 hectares of land in north Goa. But after nearly 15 years of work, the agricultural land has turned into urban sprawl.