Over 500 saplings planted last year near a dam in Gamharia, Seraikela-Kharsawan, 25km from Jamshedpur, will have to be uprooted now, thanks to the poor choice of location for the green drive that will over time weaken the embankment.
State water resources and drinking water and sanitation minister Chandra Prakash Choudhary, who visited Sitarampur Dam in Gamharia on Friday afternoon, asked his officials to ensure the year-old saplings were uprooted and planted afresh after talks with the forest department.
This May, water resources and drinking water and sanitation officials discovered that over 500 saplings were too close to the dam's embankment. If allowed to grow into trees, they would damage the dam that is the main source of drinking water for Adityapur and Gamharia residents.
After Friday's review and consulting officials of his department in Seraikela-Kharsawan and East Singhbhum, and Subernarekha Multipurpose Project (SMP), minister Choudhary issued the directive to uproot the saplings.
"My officials have been asked to take up the matter with forest department to uproot saplings near the embankment. Else, when trees grow big, the soil will get porous and weaken the embankment," Choudhary told the media later.
The minister said action would be taken against officials who had given clearance to plant saplings there. It is learnt that forest department last year planted the saplings near the embankment based on a no-objection issued by then Adityapur drinking water and sanitation department executive engineer Nazrul Imam.
The minister also promised timely completion of the Rs 237-crore Bagbera-Chhota Govindpur drinking water project that's dogged by protests.
"Some tribals are opposing the construction of the water treatment plant in Bagbera and damaging its boundary walls. The administration will be asked to give security and the private agency entrusted with building the project's infrastructure also asked to hire private security guards. Our officials will start campaigns among tribals to make them realise how the project will help them," he said.
Chief minister Raghubar Das laid the foundation stone for the project on April 18, 2015, to provide piped water to four lakh residents of Bagbera and Chhota Govindpur. Two treatment plants, one at Ghaghidih (for Bagbera), and another near Telco (for Chhota Govindpur), were proposed under it with a 2018 deadline.
Officials have also been asked to quickly finish the tender process of the second phase of the Mango water project.
HC repair order
Jharkhand High Court on Friday ordered the department of drinking water and sanitation to repair Sitarampur Dam spillway gates. Om Prakash, president of NGO Jan Kalyan Morcha, had filed a PIL in this connection with the high court last month.
