Raipur. The Save Pendravan Reservoir Kisan Sangharsh Samiti along with MLA Anuj Sharma submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Vishnu Dev Sai. In the memorandum, a demand has been made to not give NOC to the proposed limestone mining project in the catchment of Pendravan Reservoir located in village Bangoli of Kharora tehsil and to cancel the mining lease.
Pendravan Reservoir Bachao Kisan Sangharsh Samiti, along with Dharsiwa MLA Anuj Sharma, former MLA Devji Bhai Patel, also submitted a memorandum to Water Resources Minister Kedar Kashyap in the assembly premises. The Chief Minister has assured the delegation of appropriate action. The Water Resources Minister said that a meeting will be held soon with the departmental officials in this regard.
The delegation included committee chairman Anil Nayak, secretary Ghanshyam Verma, and patron board members Lalit Baghel, Udhoram Verma and Alok Shukla. MLA Anuj Sharma urged the Chief Minister and said that the catchment of the reservoir will almost end due to mining, due to which the water filling capacity of the reservoir will remain only 32 percent. In the larger interest of farmers, NOC should not be issued to the mining project.
Addressing the media after submitting the memorandum, Devji Bhai Patel said that Pendravan is a multi-purpose irrigation project. Its canal structure is also used for supplying irrigation water from the Bhatapara branch of the Mahanadi Gangrel Project. Other reservoirs are also filled by diversion of the drains of this reservoir and its catchment, due to which its total irrigation capacity becomes more than 15 thousand acres. This reservoir is important for the entire ecosystem and environment.
He said that earlier also its NOC has been cancelled twice in the year 2015 and 2017 due to my protest in the House and the widespread farmers’ movement. The government should not issue NOC again. Patron Board member Lalit Baghel said that according to the Water Resources Department itself, the current catchment area of the reservoir is 25.47 square kilometers and the tank percentage is 85.27 l After the mining starts, the catchment area will remain only 8.4 square kilometers, due to which the existence of the reservoir will almost end.