Compliance report by Jal Shakti (Irrigation and Flood Control) Department, Jammu regarding Tawi barrage project, 04/01/2025
Compliance report on behalf of Chief Engineer, Jal Shakti (Irrigation and Flood Control) Department, Jammu in compliance to the directions of the National Green Tribunal order, September 18, 2024 in OA No 720/2024 titled news item titled "Tawi barrage and river front projects in Jammu destroying river inviting disaster" appearing in sandrp.in dated May 11, 2024.
The report said that the construction of barrage at river Tawi is fully compliant with all government orders, guidelines, rules and regulations. "The hydraulic study, design and drawings of barrage at river Tawi are vetted by IIT Roorkee taking into consideration safeguard and structural stability," the report informed the tribunal.
The Tawi barrage project was conceived in the year 2010 for construction of gated structure across two channels of river Tawi namely Nikki Tawi and Waddi Tawi located at Belicharana about 1 km downstream of main Tawi bridge at Bikram Chowk.
The Tawi barrage envisages creating a pondage of 1.35 MCM capacity with a pondage level of 297.8 m. "There shall be no stoppage of water downstream of barrage at any point of time and therefore there shall be no effect on the ecology of the river". The total waterway provided at the barrage has been designed based on the 1 in 500 year flood return period which is much more than flood discharge during the 2014 floods. There is no risk of potential flood due to construction of Tawi barrage.