PATNA, Nov. 27 -- After a decade's wait, Kosi-Mechi river interlinking project is finally moving from paper to the ground, as the Water Resources Department (WRD) is expecting to commence work on the project early next year. The project is aimed at expanding the irrigation network as well as managing the flood menace in the north-eastern districts of Bihar. According to a senior officer of the department, the construction firm, Rithwik Projects Private Limited, engaged for execution of first phase of the project, has kicked off survey and redesigning the existing canal to optimise its water carrying capacity. "Work on the ground is likely to begin once the survey and design work of the existing canal system is completed by December," he added. The department has allotted the first phase of the Kosi-Mechi river interlinking project to the Hyderabad- based construction firm in September this year ahead of the imposition of the model code of conduct for the assembly polls. "The work has been allotted on the turn-key basis, under which the construction firm is supposed to survey, design and complete the drawing work before launching the ground work at the cost of about Rs.2,682.73 crore," said principal secretary of WRD Santosh Kumar Mall. Under the first phase, the eastern main canal of Kosi river in the length of 41km, from Birpur to Hanuman Nagar, will be strengthened to increase the discharge capacity from 15,000 cusec to 20,000 cusec. In the next phase, the canal will be extended to Mechi river, a tributary of Mahananda, after traversing 76km parallel to Nepal border. Mall said that once the entire project is complete costing about Rs.6,282.32 crore, it will create an irrigation facility of additional 2.14 lakh hectares in Araria, Saharsa, Supaul, Madhepura, Purnea, Katihar, Khagaria and Kishanganj districts by 2029. "The detailed project report (DPR) for the phase-2 is being prepared by the National Water Development Authority (NWDA). The department will begin land acquisition for the next phase once the DRP is finalised," said the principal secretary. The construction firm is also supposed to devise a sustainable way of silt management, which has been a bane for the old channel. As the canal runs mainly in the east to west, a vast stretch of land in the northern side is left waterlogged during the rainy season, owing to the flow of unrestrained water from Nepal. "The new design envisages cross regulators and canal syphons to do away the waterlogging," said an engineer of the WRD, adding that transfer of excess water from Kosi to Mechi would considerably mitigate the risk of flooding. The Central government has approved the ambitious Kosi-Mechi river interlinking project in March 2025 under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojna-Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (PMKSY-AIBP). The project was mooted in 2014 by the state government after the NWDA prepared its initial DPR. The Centre has agreed to offer Rs.3,652.56 crore out of the total spends as its share. That was contrary to the demand of the state government, which was asking for national status to the project and enhanced financial support from the central government in the ratio of 90:10, against the existing funding ratio of 40:60 (Centre vs State govt).. The project also aligns with the state government's Har Khet Ko Pani scheme, launched by chief minister Nitish Kumar in December 2020. The state government has allocated a sum of Rs.570 crore in the annual budget to expand the irrigation network in the state. Currently, around 38.13 lakh hectare of land is under the dependable irrigation network and the state government aims to enhance to 53.13 lakh hectare from major projects. Food and Kosi basin expert Dinesh Mishra, however, sounded a note of caution, saying that the government must start work on the Kosi-Mechi river interlinking project after assessing if the objectives of other river projects like Kosi, Gandak, etc., have been achieved. "The WRD must evolve permanent ways to manage silt in the canal and work out solutions for the recurring waterlogging along it. The waterlogging on the northern side of the canal has often led to clashes among the villagers. There is little space along the canal for dumping of silt also," said Mishra....