Rs 1639 cr project for Lamphelpat rejected by Ministry
Source: Hueiyen News Service / Annie Thounaojam

Imphal, May 18 2014 : A Rs.1639 crore mega project for development of Lamphelpat water bodies has been rejected by Union Ministry of Water Resources.

According to a highly placed official source, the detailed project report (DPR) for development of Lamphelpat has been prepared by Irrigation and Flood Control Department (IFCD) of State Government under its scheme for flood control.

The Ministry has sent back the DPR to the State Government for revision citing disproportionately large funds for a relatively small area of the project.

Rs 1639 cr project for Lamphelpat rejected by Ministry

The IFCD officials are now preparing to send a revised DPR of Lamphelpat project to the Ministry.

The source further mentioned that the Rs.1639 crore project is not only for development of Lamphelpat water bodies, but also include other sub-projects related to tourism.

However, the Ministry has flatly rejected the State Government's project citing shortage of funds for undertaking such mega projects. Last year, the State Cabinet resolved to hand out 100 acres of land at Lamphelpat to IFCD for this mega project.

The relatively small area of the project and its exorbitant project estimates might have been the main factors for the Ministry's rejection, the source said.

Lamphelpat water bodies are important in the context of conserving the ecology of Imphal area, but a project targeting at just 100 acres would not b be a wise project of the State Government concerning environment conservation.

Environmental experts said that the water from Lamphelpat area are normally drained out to Nambul River through Shamusang Uku, and the water bodies at Lamphelpat retain the water only when it cannot flow anymore to the river.

However, the water flowing down from Langol Hills now inundates Lamphelpat and causes artificial floods in its surrounding areas.

The water bodies at Lamphelpat were looked after by the Environment and Ecology Wing of State Forest Department some years back, but now not a single penny is allocated for such project in the State Plan.