Contractor Faces Allegations of Illegal Construction in Protected Bisalpur Dam Zone
A private contractor engaged for the critical desilting operation at Rajasthan's vital Bisalpur Dam is now embroiled in serious allegations of environmental encroachment. The firm has been accused of carrying out unauthorized permanent construction within the dam's strictly protected catchment area, directly violating established norms and the explicit terms of its contract.
Alleged Violations in the Negadiya Region
The reported violations are centered in the Negadiya region of the catchment zone. Environmentalists and local sources claim the contractor has significantly altered the landscape. Nearly 10 bighas of land inside the restricted area have been leveled, and the work has extended beyond simple desilting. An old temple site and a narrow agricultural footpath have been transformed. The contractor has allegedly dumped large quantities of soil, widened the footpath into a road, and begun constructing two permanent weighbridges.
"Google Images provide clear visual evidence of building activity occurring within the dam's catchment area," stated green activist and lawyer Tapeshwar Singh. He emphasized that the contract's scope of work explicitly prohibits any alteration to the dam or its catchment zone, mandating only the restoration of the reservoir's capacity to 95.84 million cubic metres over two decades.
Official Response and Environmental Concerns
Rajasthan's Minister for Water Resources, Suresh Singh Rawat, offered a partial explanation, stating the contractor was permitted to build weighbridges to measure the desilted material. However, he acknowledged the potential violation, saying, "If there is any kind of permanent construction in the catchment area, we will look into it." The Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project Corporation Ltd, overseeing the project, was unavailable for immediate comment.
Local residents express deep concern over the long-term ecological impact. A villager, who wished to remain anonymous, warned, "Once these weighbridges are operational and the road is widened, we anticipate hundreds of trucks moving through daily. This will not only create significant pollution but also severely disturb the area's delicate ecology."
Background of the Vital Desilting Project
The state government engaged the private firm for a crucial mission: to desilt and dredge the Bisalpur Dam, a lifeline reservoir supplying drinking water to Ajmer, Jaipur, and Tonk districts. After nearly 20 years without major maintenance, the dam's storage capacity had declined from its original 1,095.8 million cubic metres in 2004 to 1,029.9 million cubic metres.
An official familiar with the project explained the urgency: "The loss of storage capacity was causing significant freshwater loss through overflow. The government decided to undertake this desilting through an experienced firm specifically to reclaim that lost capacity and secure water supply." The contradiction between this essential goal and the alleged illegal construction now poses a significant challenge for authorities, balancing infrastructure maintenance with strict environmental protection of a critical water source.
