Water drawal by industries from Hirakud within limit

The water drawal by the industries from the Hirakud reservoir is much below the approved level, according to the state minister for industry and steel and mines, Raghunath Mohanty.

Replying to a question in the state assembly, Mohanty said, though 8.9 percent of the live storage capacity of the Hirakud reservoir is earmarked for industries, the actual drawal is less than 2 percent.

He claimed, the water from the reservoir is reaching the tail end of irrigation canals and there is enough water in the reservoir to meet the demand of the farmers for agriculture.

The total live storage capacity of the reservoir is 3.91 million acre feet and the industries are using 0.077 million acre feet at present which is about 105.912 cusecs, Mohanty told the state assembly.

He said, the state government has permitted 13 industries to draw water from Hirakud reservoir. Combinedly, they have been allowed to draw 0.314 million acre feet or 433.322 cusecs.

The reservoir was constructed mainly for flood control, irrigation and power generation. However, keeping in view the industrial growth in the area, the irrigation and power department had taken a decision to provide 0.350 million acre feet of water to various industries in 1990. The permission to draw water up to 0.314 million acre feet given by the government is within this limit.

The industrial units which have been given permission to draw water from the reservoir are IB Thermal Power Station (OPGC), BITS (MCL) at Bandhabahal, SMC Power Generation Corporation, Bhushan Steel and Power Ltd, Action Ispat and Power, Aditya Aluminium, Shyam DRI, Viraj Steel and Energy Ltd, Vedanta Aluminium Ltd, INDAL, Hirakud, SPS Sponge Iron, Ultra Mega Power Ltd. (Orissa Integrated Power Ltd.) and Orient Paper Mills.

Mohanty said, IB Thermal located at Banharpali in Jharsuguda district is presently drawing 12.36 cusecs against its quota of 65.34 cusecs. Similarly, BITS (MCL) is drawing its full permitted amount of 3.71 cusecs and Bhushan Steel and Power, located at Lapang (Jharsuguda) is drawing 12 cusecs compared to the approved limit of 70 cusecs

While SMC Power Generation is drawing the full quota of 2450 cusecs, Action Ispat and Power Ltd is drawing its permitted quantity of 1512 cusecs. Shyam DRI Ltd. (5040 cusec), Viraj Steel and Energy (1500 cusecs), Vedanta Aluminium Ltd (54,000 cusecs) and Orient Paper Mills (1840 cusecs) are drawing water at their permitted level.

Similarly, SPS Sponge Iron Ltd., Ultra Mega Power Ltd. and Aditya Aluminium have not yet drawn any water from the reservoir. The government collected Rs 3.41 crore as water tax during the last fiscal. It collected Rs 7.73 crore in the last five years, the minister added.