Bureaucratic Reshuffle: 13 secretaries get new postings in major rejig

In a major bureaucratic reshuffle at the Centre, 13 Secretaries have been transferred and posted to different Ministries and departments while several senior civil servants have been promoted.

New Delhi: In a major bureaucratic reshuffle at the Centre, 13 Secretaries have been transferred and posted to different Ministries and departments while several senior civil servants have been promoted.

Deepak Khandekar gets the charge as Secretary, Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions.

Khandekar, a 1985-batch Madhya Pradesh cadre officer, is currently working as Secretary in Ministry of Tribal Affairs. He will replace his batchmate C Chandramouli of Tamil Nadu cadre.

Besides Khandekar, his batchmate Upendra Prasad Singh has been appointed Secretary in the Ministry of Textiles. Presently, Singh is serving as Secretary in the Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation under the Ministry of Jal Shakti.

The Appointment Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the appointments on Saturday through an order.[Readmore]

Andhra Pradesh: Polavaram project designs may get panel’s nod today

AMARAVATI: In what could be a major development, the Dam Designs Review Panel (DDRP) is all set to finalise Polavaramproject designs.

DDRP, headed by former Central Water Commission (CWC) chairman AB Pandya, is holding the crucial session on Saturday to review and stamp its nod on the designs submitted by the project contractor Mehga Engineering and Infrastructure Limited (MEIL) through the state irrigation department. The panel members inspected the project works on Friday.

The review panel consists of YK Handa, former chief engineer, CWC, DP Bhargava, former director, NHPC, Polavaram project chief engineer, chief engineer (designs), CWC, chief engineer (HSO), CWC and chief engineer (designs), irrigation department of the state government.

The elite panel of water, power and irrigation engineers had already examined the designs of the project readied in 3-D mode at Central Water and Power Research Station (CWPRS) in Pune before arriving at the project.

The clearance of the final designs of the project is crucial to take the project to the next phase. The panel is examining the designs readied by the irrigation department based on project outflows from the spillway.

The project contractor Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited (MEIL) constructed the model design in about one acre space in CWPRS in Pune and presented the model to the DDRP members.[Readmore]

Andhra Pradesh: Polavaram project sample designs to be examined in Pune on February 18

A team of experts from the Central and State Water Resources Departments has decided to finalize key designs based on the consequences of pumping high pressure water into the Polavaram project spillway. As part of this, a 3-D-acre model at the Central Water and Power Research Station (CWPRS) in Pune will be examined on the 18th of this month. A team of experts led by former chairman of the Central Water Board (CWC) AB Pandya, DDRP (Dam Design Review Panel), Polavaram Project Authority (PPA), State Water Resources Department ENC C. Narayana Reddy and others will travel to Pune. Experiments by a team of CWPRS officials on the model Polavaram project will evaluate their results. Based on these analyses, the Polavaram Reservoir works will be examined at the field level on 19th, 20th and 21st of this month and the pending designs will be finalized and sent to the CWC for approval.[Readmore]

Construction of 52 pillars on the spillway of Polavaram project over

For the spillway bridge, the company had completed laying of 45 slabs while the work on laying three more slabs are nearing completion

Vijayawada: The construction of 52 pillars of 52-metre-high on the spillway of Polavaram irrigation project was completed, said Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Limited.

The company, which has taken up the execution of Polavaram project, said that they had completed the construction of 52 pillars at a height of 52 meters each on the spillway by Thursday and claimed that their works were hindered in the last year due to heavy rains and floods and outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic.[Readmore]

Uttarakhand glacier burst: At least 50 missing, two dams damaged

About 50 labourers who were working at the under-construction Rishiganga dam are said to be missing.

The water level in the Dhauliganga river rose suddenly following an avalanche near a power project at Raini village in Tapovan area of Chamoli district.(ANI via REUTERS)

At least 50 people were missing after a massive glacial burst swept through an under construction dam in Tapovan area in Chamoli district, about 300 km east of Dehradun on Sunday morning, officials said.[Readmore]

Government announces new norms for infrastructure along waterways

Inspired by the waterdrome project on Sabarmati River at the Sardar Sarovar Dam and the floating passenger jetty in Goa, the Centre is keen to encourage development of similar infrastructure across India for various purposes, including tourism.

The Sardar Patel memorial and the area around it is being developed as a major tourist attraction. Photo: PTI File

The central government has announced a set of guidelines on construction and operation of infrastructure along the country’s waterways.

Inspired by the waterdrome project on Sabarmati River at the Sardar Sarovar Dam and the floating passenger jetty in Goa, the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways is keen to encourage development of similar infrastructure across India for various purposes, including tourism. Till now the guidelines covering floating structures were focused on basic requirements such as safety. The new norms are an attempt to incorporate technical advancements that open up new avenues for enhanced standards.[Readmore]

BRICS Water Ministers meeting chaired by Shri. Kushvinder Vohra, Member, CWC

New Delhi: The third meeting of the committee for planning the BRICS Water Ministers meeting and the BRICS Water Forum was held under the Chairmanship of Shri. Kushvinder Vohra, Member (WP&P), CWC on Jan 28, 2021, with participants from NWDA, CGWB, and Department of Drinking Water & Sanitation, Ministry of Jal Shakti.

BRICS Water Ministers meeting and BRICS Water Forum is being planned to be held along with 7th India Water Week 2021 during 16th-20th Nov. 2021. During the meeting, detailed discussions were held, and planning for Sub-Themes of BRICS Water Forum, event programme, no. of participants, invitees, action required for field visit during the event, etc.[Readmore]

Why is China’s new dam a concern for India?

What is the course of the river Brahmaputra?

China is planning to build a huge dam on the river Brahmaputra. And it has raised concern in downstream countries – India and Bangladesh. What is the Chinese dam project all about and what could be its impact? Let’s find out in this Five Ws & One H...

The Brahmaputra (called Yarlung Tsangpo in China) is one of the longest rivers in the world. Starting in the Himalayas in Tibet, it enters India in Arunachal Pradesh, then passes through Assam, Bangladesh, and empties into the Bay of Bengal. The Brahmaputra, a perennial river, is the lifeline for communities living along its banks. They use it for irrigation, fisheries and inland water transport. In its lower course, the river is both an advantage and a disadvantage. On the one hand, it deposits huge quantities of fertile alluvial soil suitable for agriculture, but on the other, due to geographical and climatic conditions, it causes periodical, disastrous floods in Assam and Bangladesh.[Readmore]

Union govt completes formalities for funding 'DRIP'

Formalities completed with World Bank for funding Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project

The Union Government has completed the formalities with the World Bank for funding of the Phase II and III of the Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP).

In effect, this raises hopes of the project’s implementation kicking in sometime in the coming summer.

The formalities with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), which will co-fund the project, will be completed soon, allowing for the rollout of the funds.

The funding period of the two international institutions will be ten years.[Readmore]

Polavaram Irrigation Project: Dam review postponed, panel meet in January-end

While the civil works related to the project have gained momentum, there are about 30 designs pending to be approved.

VIJAYAWADA: The meeting of the dam design review panel (DDRP), which was to meet this week to discuss the approval of pending designs of various components of Polavaram Irrigation Project (PIP) and other aspects, is learnt to have been pushed to a later date. The panel is likely to meet in a week or two, officials said.[Readmore]

Allegations based on erroneous interpretation of CWPRS report on impact of Pune Metro on Mutha River: Maha-Metro

A day after activists accused the Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (MMRCL) of misleading the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on the impact of Pune Metro on Mutha river in order to get clearance for an elevated 1.45 km route, the Maha-Metro said Tuesday that the allegations are based on erroneous interpretation of the Central Water Power Research Station (CWPRS)’s study report.

In a press statement, Maha-Metro said the construction work of Metro piers along the left bank of the Mutha river is being executed under the supervision of the expert committee appointed by the NGT under the divisional commissioner. The matter is sub-judice with the NGT.[Readmore]

Pune metro: Maha-Metro claims reported values of CWPRS report “far from truth”

Some activists including Rajya Sabha MP Vandana Chavan, Anu Aga, Sarang Yadwadkar held a press conference and raised a concern over rising water levels due to ongoing metro work in the Mutha river

As activist and political leaders raised concern over the flood level, Maha Metro issued a press statement on Tuesday. (HT PHOTO)

The Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation (Maha-Metro) blamed the media and activists for exaggerating the figures mentioned in the Central Water and Power Research Station (CWPRS) report.

Maha Metro issued the press statement on Tuesday and claimed, “The flood levels would increase very normally due to metro work, but to ensure citizens, Mahametro would present and discuss the CWPRS report with an expert committee during the forthcoming meeting under the chairmanship of divisional commissioner.”[Readmore]