Aiming to do away with the problem of the scarce availability of drinking water in Panchkula and to help irrigate land in various villages in the district, a project review meeting was held recently. The Haryana chief minister chaired it.

“It was decided at the review meeting that land acquisition should start. Also, construction work will soon be awarded by the Haryana Irrigation Department,” said Panchkula DC Rajender Kumar Kataria.

He added that land acquisition is to be completed by the end of February, after which construction will begin.

Another senior official of the department said on condition of anonymity: “Though the notification under Section 4, regarding acquisition of 60 acre of land was issued by the government of Haryana some months ago, it is only now that the actual process will start.”

“A mandatory approval from the Ghaggar Standing Committee, working under the ministry of water resources at the Centre, has already been taken in this regard. At an approximate cost of Rs 100 crore, the dam would be located downstream of Mallah village, near HMT, on the Kaushalya river,” he added.

He also said the total catchment area of the dam would be around 77 sq km.

The project will not only benefit various villages in the district but will also augment the drinking water supply in the region.

The official said: “Land will be acquired by the government in Islamnagar, Nagal Sodhian and Milk villages, which fall in the Kalka block. Besides, the dam will also help promote tourism, as with the coming up of this project a lake will also be formed.”