Jaipur: In an effort to meet the growing water demand for Jaipur till 2051, the public health and engineering department (PHED) has expedited the project to interlink Brahmani and Banas rivers to bring water to Bisalpur dam.

While speaking on the achievements of government during the past four years, PHED minister Surendra Goyal said that the work to bring Brahmani river to Bisalpur dam has been started. Besides, height of the dam will also be increased by one metre.

“Due to scarcity of rainfall, Bisalpur is receiving less flow of water every year. We have already started working on a plan to increase water storage for the Bisalpur Phase-II project. We have sanctioned Rs 653 crore to increase the height and catchment area of the dam.”

Explaining the proposal, an official said, the department has kicked off preparations for first interlinking project in the state to address its drinking water and irrigation requirements. At present, the Bisalpur dam has infrastructure to supply water till 2021, but once the capacity is increased, it will cater to the water requirements till 2051, he said.

To tap rain water going waste every monsoon, the Brahmani and Banas rivers are proposed to be interlinked by digging a tunnel between the two.

“There are plans to bring water from Brahmani river to Banas and then to the Bisalpur dam, built on the Banas, for meeting the future requirement of water in Jaipur and Ajmer. As per the proposal, water will be brought to Bisalpur by constructing 48-km tunnel and 22-km open channel,” said a PHED official.

Currently, rain water flowing in Brahmani river goes untapped as it mixes with Chambal river which eventually meets Yamuna in Uttar Pradesh. According to an estimate, at least 355 million cubic metre water every monsoon can be utilized by interlinking which otherwise goes waste.

“Once the height of the dam is increased, it’s capacity would be increased by up to 8,000 million cubic ft (TMC). At present, the dam capacity is 38.7 TMC.”

Minister said, once the project is operational, this would end the water woes in Jaipur and Ajmer. According to PHED official, Jaipur has been allocated 930 MLD of water from the Bisalpur dam. Of this, only 600 MLD is currently being drawn. The second phase is expected to bring the remaining 330 MLD of water allocated for Jaipur. In order to avail the water, the department had to construct a new pumping station, additional raw water pipeline and water treatment plant at Surajpura. From Surajpura water treatment plant, a 9km-long pipeline to Balabala pumping station has to be constructed to supply water to city residents.