Work on the Jawai replenishment project, launched to strengthen the drinking water system in Pali district, has come to a halt due to stiff opposition from villagers. The rehabilitation of about 19 thousand people falling in the submergence area of these dams to be built in Udaipur district has become the biggest hurdle in the path of this project.

Under this ambitious project, dams are to be constructed on the Sei river at Bhuja village and on the Sabarmati river at Chak Sandmariyama in Udaipur district. Along with this, tunnels of 7.42 kilometers and 5.82 kilometers length are also to be constructed respectively. With the completion of this project, water supply to nine towns and 560 villages of Pali district was to improve, and the groundwater table in Jalore district was also expected to improve.

Details of multi-crore contracts and compensation

According to project records, work orders of ₹665.80 crore to Hyderabad-based M/s Shri Avantika Contractors Limited for the Sei dam and ₹590.10 crore to M/s PES-KSR Joint Venture for the Sabarmati dam were issued on June 30, 2023. The total amount of both these works is ₹1255.90 crore. According to the contract, the date of commencement of work was fixed as July 10, 2023 and the final date of completion of work as January 9, 2027.

According to departmental data, a total of 983.77 hectares of private land, 793.92 hectares of government land and 86.34 hectares of forest land will be affected in this project. Under land acquisition, a compensation amount of ₹304.58 crore has been transferred to the Land Acquisition Officer of Kotra by March 31, 2026.

Local opposition and initiative of officials

Based on the 2011 census, 11,631 people in the Sei dam area and 8,092 people in the Sabarmati dam area are affected, making a total affected population of 19,723. Despite receiving compensation, there is anger among villagers due to the lack of a clear rehabilitation framework. Earlier, incidents of bow-and-arrow attacks on officers and employees during surveys and physical verification have also come to light, in which several employees were injured.

In this sequence, Water Resources Department Chief Engineer Pradeep Rastogi and Jawai Replenishment Division Superintending Engineer Dharmesh Singhvi inspected the construction areas and talked to the local people. The effort of the officials is to find a way out for the survey by creating mutual consensus.