OTHER DEPARTMENTS

IRRIGATION AND POWER DEPARTMENT

THE IRRIGATION AND POWER DEPARTMENT DEALS WITH (1) Major, Medium and Minor Irrigation Works, (2) Hydro-Electric Schemes, and (3) Water Supply and Drainage Schemes.

Organisation.

For execution of multi-purpose Koyna Hydro-Electric Project Stages I and II, there exists the Koyna Organisation under the overall charges of the Chief Engineer, Koyna Project, with headquarters at Koynanagar, District Satara. The Chief Engineer, Koyna is responsible to Secretary to Government, Irrigation and Power Department for the working of this organisation. The Chief Engineer, Koyna, has under him on the civil side two Superintending Engineers, ten Executive Engineers, one Research Officer, one Chief Accounts Officer and number of Deputy Engineers, etc. for implementation of the Koyna project. [In the Electrical and Mechanical wing there is a Chief Engineer (Electrical), Koyna, with headquarters at Bombay and one Executive Engineer at Koynanagar]. For operation and maintenance of the construction power plant system the three medium irrigation schemes in the district are being executed by three independent subdivisions viz., Tarali Bandhara Sub-Division for Tarali Bandhara; Urmodi Bandhara Sub-Division for Urmodi Bandhara and Koregaon Sub-Division, for Ranand tank under the control of the Executive Engineer, Satara Division, who is under the Superintending Engineer, Central Circle, Poona. For the execution of the remodelling and extension of the Krishna Canals, which will benefit Sangli and Satara districts, there is a Krishna Canals Extension Sub-Division No. 1 at Karad under the Executive Engineer, Kolhapur Irrigation Division which works under the Superintending Engineer, Deccan Irrigation Circle (I), Poona.

Minor irrigation works in the district are supervised by the Executive Engineer, Nira Right Bank Canal Division, with headquarters at Phaltan. He is under the control of the Superintending Engineer, Deccan Irrigation Circle (I), Poona. There are two subdivisions i.e. Tarali Bandhara Sub-Division and Minor Irrigation Investigation Sub-Division with headquarters at Satara. The former undertakes mostly construction work and the latter looks after investigation and preparation of plans and estimates for minor irrigation works in the district. The Director of Minor Irrigation is of the rank of a Chief Engineer and is the head of the department entrusted with the implementation of minor irrigation programme in the State.

The Executive Engineer, Public Health Works Division, Kolhapur is entrusted with the execution and maintenance of public health i.e. water supply and drainage schemes and the Executive Engineer, Public Health Project Division, Poona with the preparation of major public health schemes in the district. The works in Satara, Wai, Phaltan, Khatav, Patan and Jaoli talukas and Mahabaleshwar and Khandala Petas are looked after by the Sub-Divisional Officer, Mahabaleshwar, Water Supply Construction Sub-Division, Satara and those in Man and Karad talukas by the Sub-Divisional Officer, Sanitary Sub-Division, Sangli. The Executive Engineers of Public Health Works Division and Public Health Projects Division are under the control of the Superintending Engineer, Western Public Health Circle, Poona.

Superintending Engineer.

The Superintending Engineer is responsible for the administration and general control of works in charge of officers of the department within his 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 Sub-Divisional Officers are responsible to the Executive Engineer in charge of the division for management and execution of works within their Sub-Divisions. The overseers are in charge of sections. They are under the Sub-Divisional Officers.

Koyna Hydro-Electric Project.

The Koyna Hydro-Electric Project (a multi-purpose River Valley Project) situated in the zone of Sahyadri mountains in the Southern Maharashtra, is designed to harness the heavy precipitation of nearly 200 inches annual rainfall in the Koyna valley to economic generation of electric power by channelling the waters up to high-drop tunnel along the western slope. The salient features of the project, which is being executed in stages since 1956, are (i) a rubble-concrete dam of about 207 feet high across the Koyna river at a point, nearly three miles upstream from Helvak in the district (on Karad-Chiplun road), storing 36,000 mc. ft. in first stage, (ii) diversion of the stored water to the west by underground tunnels and conduits through the surge shaft into the steel lined pressure shafts along and within the high western escarpment providing an almost vertical drop of 1,600 ft. under high pressure into the generation plant housed in underground halls approached by tunnel into the rocky face near the village Pophali of Chiplun taluka, and (iii) discharge of the water from the power house through tail race tunnel into the river Vashisthi which flows westward into Arabian Sea. The underground power-house is the first of its kind in Asia.

The power-house system consists of three huge parallel caverns with an access road tunnel, a ventilation tunnel (touching the caverns at the roof level) and cable tunnels to take outside the hill, the power generated and stepped up in the power-house system for onward transmission to Bombay for being linked with the Tata railway system serving the Bombay-Poona area and for distribution in the Southern Maharashtra region.

The first stage of the project is estimated to cost Rs. 38.28 crores. In this stage 4 machines each generating 60,000 KW. power will be installed. The first unit of the project is expected to be put into commercial operation by the end of the financial year 1961-62 and the remaining in succession thereafter.

The Second Stage development of the project envisages raising the dam to enable impound 98,000 mc. ft. of water, which would allow utilisation of 67,500 mc. ft. (partly from the run off of the river and partly from the storage) for power purposes by diversion to the West and a utilisation of 16,000 mc. ft. for irrigation in the Krishna basin upto the southern boundary of Maharashtra State.

As most of the other elements of the underground power-house system will already be constructed to the second stage dimensions during stage I construction programme the only civil engineering works that require to be executed in the 2nd stage are, raising the Dam to a section relevant to 98,000 mc. ft. storage, two more pressure shafts and the 2nd cable tunnel.

On the electrical and mechanical side, the provision and installation of four more generators capable of almost doubling up the power of the 1st stage together with appurtenant step-up transformers, switch gear and transmission system form the main bulk of work. The total generable units at the end of the 2nd stage will be 2,150 million KWH.

In addition, a power-house at the foot of the dam (with an installed capacity of about 40,000 KW), is also contemplated as a part of Stage II works. The Stage II project (including P. H. at the foot of the Dam), is estimated to cost Rs. 1,797.63 lakhs.

Major and Medium Irrigation.

The Third stage development of the project consists of the exploitation of the Tail Race Potential. Tail Race waters emerging out of the Power House hill at an altitude of about 420 feet above the mean sea level, flow down a steep bed gradient of the outfall river. Within a distance of five miles, the bed level of this outfall river (Vashisthi), is about 150 feet. Thus a tail race plant, capable of generating 60,000 KW. at 60 per cent, load factor, is envisaged in the 3rd stage development.

The work of following medium irrigation schemes is in progress.

Remodelling and Extension of Krishna Canals under execution will partly benefit Karad Taluka of the district and Walva and Tasgaon Talukas of Sangli district. The Vir Dam Project in Poona district is also expected to benefit 4,190 acres in Phaltan taluka of Satara district on its completion and full development.

A new major project, viz., Koyna Irrigation Project is included in the Third Plan. The project envisages the construction of a pick-up weir at Warunji near Karad. The project is estimated to cost Rs. 950 lakhs and will irrigate on completion about 91,350 acres of which 18,150 acres will be in Karad taluka.

Minor Irrigation.

There are 31 minor irrigation schemes, irrigating 250 acres and less with an outlay of Rs. 2.94 lakhs incurred so far and a projected irrigable area of 3,128 acres, which have been completed in the First Five Year Plan. Two minor irrigation schemes completed in the First Plan, irrigating more than 250 acres, are as under:—

Eight minor works with an outlay of Rs. 29.99 lakhs and a projected irrigable area of 5,389 acres, have been completed in the First Five Year Plan in the district. The important schemes are as under:—

About 22 minor irrigation schemes, with an estimated cost of Rs. 31.28 lakhs and a projected irrigable area of 7,974 acres, have been spread over the Third Five-Year Plan. The important schemes are as under:—

Water Supply and Drainage Schemes.

The main functions of the Public Health Organisation of the Department are as under:-

(i) Execution of Government and municipal water supply and drainage schemes.

(ii) Supervision of water supply and drainage schemes executed by local bodies through their own agencies.

(iii) To give advice so far as water supply and drainage problems are concerned to other departments of Government, in connection with schemes sponsored by them.

(iv) Maintain large number of water works in the State either owned by Government or owned by local bodies but entrusted to Government for running, the local bodies bearing the cost.

In the district, the following towns are provided with protected piped water supply:—

Following arc the Government water supply and drainage schemes in progress in the district:—

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