OTHER DEPARTMENTS

IRRIGATION AND POWER DEPARTMENT.

The Irrigation and Power department in Chandrapur district deals with major irrigation works under execution, medium irrigation works under maintenance, minor irrigation works under maintenance as well as under construction and water-supply and drainage works.

At the State level, the overall administrative control of major, medium and minor irrigation works is distributed in a functional manner between four Chief Engineers and Director of Minor Irrigation. The Superintending Engineer who is responsible to the Chief Engineers and Director of Minor Irrigation for the works in their respective spheres is placed in charge of a circle normally consisting of four to five divisions. A division is headed by an Executive Engineer. Each division normally comprises four to five sub-divisions. A sub-division is placed in charge of an Assistant Engineer or Deputy Engineer. The sub-divisions  are divided further into sections each in charge of an Overseer.  There are about 35 Overseers in each division. The section is  generally formed for maintenance of about 5,000 acres of irrigated land or where capital expenditure of rupees one to two lakhs  IS involved.

In Chandrapur district, the Executive Engineer, Minor Irrigation Division, is responsible to the Superintending Engineer, Vidarbha Irrigation Circle (East), Nagpur. The Executive Engineer, Irrigation Project Division, is responsible to the Superintending Engineer, Vidarbha Irrigation Construction Circle (East), Nagpur.

Superintending Engineer.

The Superintending Engineer is responsible for the administration and general financial and technical control of the works in the circle. It is his duty to inspect various works within his circle and to ensure that the system of management and working prevailing in his circle is efficient and economical.

Executive Engineer.

The Executive Engineer is responsible to the Superintending  Engineer of his circle for execution and management of all works  within his division. The Assistant and Deputy Engineers are responsible to the Executive Engineer for management and execution of works within the jurisdiction of their sub-divisions. The Overseers are responsible to the Assistant Engineers or Deputy Engineers as the case may be for execution and management of all the works within their respective sections.

Activities.

Major Irrigation Works.-There is only one major irrigation project under execution in the district, viz., Diva Nadi Project in Gadhchiroli tahsil. The project, as administratively approved for Rs. 226.91 lakhs, envisages construction of a 69 ft. high earthen dam across the Diva Nadi and Koka nalla near Regree village. The project has a culturable command of 30,860 acres, of which 30,500 acres of mixed crop-pattern have been proposed to be irrigated by the project. Whereas gross capacity of Diva lake would be 2,160 Mcft., the net capacity would be 1,976 Mcft. Only one canal taking off directly from the reservoir is proposed which would be 20 miles in length, serving 45 villages of Gadhchiroli tahsil.

The construction work on the dam proper has not yet been started owing to some doubts regarding the capability of the dam for storing water in view of the fissured and highly jointed nature of the rock at the dam site. Various experiments are in progress to find out the most economical way of sealing the dam seat so as to make it water-tight. The project is likely to be completed by the end of the Fourth Five-Year Plan.

Medium and minor irrigation works.-There is no medium irrigation scheme under execution in the district. There are, however, three existing medium irrigation tanks (i.e., those constructed during the pre-plan period and having irrigation potential of more than 4,000 acres) in addition to other minor irrigation tanks in the district under maintenance with the Executive Engineer, Minor Irrigation Division. Chandrapur. The projected irrigation potential of medium tanks is 38,170 acres while that of the minor tanks is 9,098 acres. As against 47,268 acres of the irrigation potential created under these tanks in the Slate sector, 45,598 acres of area was irrigated during 1964-65.

The work of repairs and renovation of all the ex-malguzari tanks falling in the State sector is looked after by the Ex-Malguzari Tanks Division with headquarters at Brahmapuri. These ex-malguzari tanks irrigating more than 250 acres individually number 75. The work of repairs to and renovation of 48 tanks estimated to cost Rs. 89.47 lakhs is in progress.

Public Health.

Public Health Engineering Wing of the Irrigation and Power department deals with Government and municipal water-supply and drainage schemes and also individual rural water-supply schemes costing Rs. 5 lakhs and above.

Till July 1963, there was no divisional office of this wing in the district and water-supply schemes in the district were executed and maintained on behalf of the local bodies by the Executive Engineer, Public Works Division, Nagpur. A separate Public Health Works Division was created for the district for the execution of water-supply and drainage scheme of the Defence Project, Chandrapur. This division is in charge of the Superin-tending Engineer, Nagpur Public Health Circle, Nagpur, and has five sub-divisions under it. Besides the execution of the water-supply and drainage schemes of the Defence Project, this division also looks after the execution of water-supply and drainage schemes of the municipalities in the district, undertakes execution of rural water-supply schemes costing Rs. 5 lakhs and above, and looks after the maintenance of Chandrapur and Warsi (Yeotmal district) water works. Water-supply scheme for the Basic Training College at Kelapur is also entrusted to this division.

TOP