Himalayan Times (1953)

Eight

iiy.v.wilannit

March 1, 193 5

D. V. C. FORGES AHEAD

With the opening of the Tilaiya
Dam and the Bokaro Power Station
by the Prime Minister, Shr.i Jawa-
harial Nehru, the Damodar Valley Cor-
poration-marks a milestone in India’s
iiistor}'. Tilaiya and Bokaro constitute
the. first step in the scheme far taming
the Damodar river

1'he Tilaiya Dam is one- of four
lo be built1 under the first phase of
development of this valley. Included
in this phase are th • dams known as
Koiiar, Maithon and i anehet Hill, toge-
ther with a> barrage at Durgapur and
a 90—mile irrigation-!: unr navigation cha-
nnel which will' link Howrah with the
coalfields, of West Bengal. The second
phase Of-; the D. V, C. Project comprises
fdur' more projects details of which still
remain' to be worked out. But the
Damodar s capacity for spreading misery
and devastation through floods wilfabe-
limited \v th /Hie completion of the first
phase. . '

The Capricious Damodar
The question of controlling the
Damodar came to the fan-front in 11)43
when it inuhdated its banks causing
interruption to <the war effort and serious
damage to: public and private property
•'estimated at Us. 2p cror.es The earlier
recorded.-Hoods occurred in- 1823 and 1913.
The. Damodar is one of the most capri-
cious rivers of India, an unmanageable,
river during the monsoon. It dries up
completely during the summer 'months.
Rising in the Hay.aribagh district of
• Bihar and coursing through 33(> miles,
the Damodar traverses a fertile area
rich in minerals. Neither the soil nor llie
mineral resources ofnhe region have been
fully exploited so- far, because of
insufficient supply of Water during

dry months and the poor availability
of power. Despite these handicaps, the
valley is one of the most industrialised
regions m the country, because it con-
tains 80 per cent of India’s coal, 94 per
cent of h v iron ore, 100 per cent copper,
70 per cent chromite 70 per cent mica,
100 per cent kayuite 45 per cent. China
clay and asbestos.

in lW43, a scheme was drawn up
to eontiol foods, provide perennial irriga-
tion and produce power. The Govern-
Cment of India’s consultants approved of
it in I 1 Mi. and considered thai the work
would be finished in five years. Later,
because of financial and other conside-
rations this view was revised and th-3
scheme was split, into two phase's, invol
ving the construction of four dims in
the first an l three in the second phase.

D. V C. Legislation

After prolonged deliberations, the
Damodar Valley Corporation Act was'
passed by the Indian Legislature in >9 fS
for the setting up of an autonomous
body to execute the scheme.

The structure of the Corporation
is base i . n the Tennessee Valley Authority
in America Wide powers have been
given to the Corporation under the Act
to enable it. to fulfil its obligations. It
has b 'cii empowered to promote . and
operate m-Iic nies and works concerning
irrigation, water supply, drainage, flood
control, afforestation, land reclamation,
electrical generation including transmission
and distribution, and navigation. It can
also plan for improved agriculture, in-
dustrial development, public healtli and
tlie general well-being of. the Valley.

the D. V. C. is an autonomous body set
the up under an Act. 'The Government of