A meeting of the Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) under the Chairpersonship of Secretary, Department of Expenditure, was held this week to consider the proposal of Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation for revised cost estimate of World Bank funded Dam Rehabilitation & Improvement Project (DRIP).
The EFC approved revised cost estimate of DRIP for Rs. 3466 Crore and extended time period for conclusion of this project till June, 2020.
DRIP is a state sector scheme with central component to improve safety and operational performance of selected dams, along with institutional strengthening with system wide management approach.
The total original cost of DRIP was Rs. 2100 Crore with State component of Rs. 1968 Crore and Central Component of Rs. 132 Crore. The EFC approval was given to DRIP in May 2011 and Cabinet approval in November 2011. The Scheme commenced in April 2012 and was originally scheduled for six years with closure in June 2018.
The participating States/Agencies in the DRIP are Damodar Valley Corporation, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited and Central Water Commission.