Sleemanabad Tunnel of Katni is in the final stage. After its commencement, 2.45 lakh hectares of land in 1450 villages will get irrigation and farming in Vindhya region will change.
Bhopal. The Sleemanabad Tunnel being built in Katni district of Madhya Pradesh has now reached its final stage. Chief Minister Dr. Mohan Yadav inspected this ambitious project on July 17. It is being counted among the most challenging engineering projects of the state. After the commencement of the tunnel, about 2.45 lakh hectares of agricultural land in about 1450 villages of Jabalpur, Katni, Maihar, Satna, Rewa and Panna will get permanent irrigation facility. This is expected to bring a big change in the agriculture, employment and economy of Vindhya and Mahakoshal region.
Sleemanabad Tunnel Project: Project nears success after years of challenge
During the inspection, Chief Minister Dr. Mohan Yadav said that the tunnel construction work was carried out continuously in three shifts. The pace of work was very slow in the initial years and by the year 2015 only 1406 meters of tunnel could be excavated. After this, in the year 2016, excavation started from the upstream part of the tunnel with the help of modern machine brought from Germany. During this period, engineers, technicians and laborers had to face many technical and natural challenges. After the formation of the new government in the year 2023, the contractor had also decided to leave the work. The machines were old and digging had to be continued with the same machine for a long time. Despite all the difficulties, now this project is almost completed in the year 2026. The Chief Minister said that after the commencement of the tunnel, about 2.5 lakh hectares of land in the upstream and downstream areas will be irrigated.
Engineering Marvel: Sleemanabad Tunnel becomes a wonderful example of science and engineering
The Chief Minister said that despite the Vindhya region being rich in natural resources, water shortage in many parts had remained a challenge for a long time. This tunnel will prove to be lifeline for districts like Katni, Rewa, Satna, Maihar and Panna. He said that the water of Narmada River normally flows towards the Gulf of Khambhat, but through modern engineering, now this water will reach the Son River area of Ganga Basin through the historical tunnel and will bring greenery there. This approximately 12 kilometer long project will also be considered a case study for engineering studies in future.
The Chief Minister said that the tunnel has been designed in such a way that even in the event of a severe earthquake, it will remain safe for about 100 years. At many places its depth is up to 120 feet from the ground. Expressing his gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the project, he said that the Central Government has given support of about Rs 275 crore in the project worth about Rs 1600 crore.
MP Irrigation Project: There will be a big increase in irrigation capacity
The Chief Minister said that there came a time when it seemed that this project would not be completed. But the government continued the work despite difficult rocks and technical hurdles. He said that about 2.5 lakh hectares of land will be irrigated in five districts of Chitrakoot and Vindhya region—Rewa, Satna, Maihar, Katni and Panna. This will solve the problem of drinking water to a great extent and there will also be a possibility of power generation at many places. He said that once only seven and a half lakh hectares of land was irrigated in the state. Later it increased to 44 lakh hectares and in the last two and a half years it has been increased to 65 lakh hectares.
Farmer Welfare Year: Big gift to farmers in Farmer Welfare Year
The Chief Minister said that this project will prove to be a big achievement for the farmers in the Farmer Welfare Year. In the next three months, water will be made available for irrigation in about one lakh hectare area for Rabi season. He told that the specialty of this project is that Narmada river will flow from below and Katni river will flow from above. This project will bring a big change in the lives of lakhs of farmers of Bundelkhand and Baghelkhand. Appealing to the farmers not to sell their agricultural land, the Chief Minister said that in the coming times this region will achieve agricultural prosperity like Punjab and Haryana. This will stop migration and strengthen the rural economy.
Tunnel Construction Challenges: Engineers made the impossible possible
This 11.952 km long tunnel has been constructed within the Vindhya mountain range. Through this, Narmada water will be transported to Son River with the help of gravity. Engineers faced many serious challenges during construction. Hard marble and limestone rocks, strong dolomite layers, huge underground caves and leakage of about 25 thousand liters of water per minute became the biggest obstacles in the work.
The situation was so difficult that even the American machine used in the excavation broke down. After this, Germany’s state-of-the-art Herrenconnect machine was imported and the work was taken forward by adopting special tame grouting technique. The biggest achievement of the tunnel was that despite passing under a densely populated area, railway track and national highway, there was no damage anywhere.
Project Cost: The journey started in 2008, the cost reached more than double
The construction work of this project was entrusted to Hyderabad based construction agency M/s Patel-SEW (Joint Venture). Its contract was signed in the year 2008 and at that time the estimated cost was fixed at Rs 799 crore. Later the cost increased due to difficult geographical conditions, special techniques to prevent water seepage and use of modern machines. So far Rs 1610.47 crore has been spent on this project. At present 96.66 percent work of the entire contract has been completed. Under the project, the construction of 12.135 km long open cut canal and 11.952 km long main tunnel has been completely completed.
Narmada Tunnel Benefits: Picture of 1450 villages will change
Through this huge tunnel of 10.14 meter diameter, Narmada water will move only with the help of gravity, without electricity and without heavy pumps. Through Bargi Right Bank Main Canal, 2.45 lakh hectares of agricultural land of about 1450 villages of Jabalpur, Katni, Maihar, Satna, Rewa and Panna districts will get permanent irrigation facility. Under this, 21,823 hectares of land in Katni, 54,227 hectares in Maihar, 1,04,970 hectares in Satna, 3,532 hectares in Rewa and 448 hectares in Panna will get direct benefits.
MP Government Roadmap: Target to increase irrigation capacity by 2027
Work is going on at a fast pace on the eight groups to be built after the tunnel. By March 2026, irrigation potential has been developed in 44,160 hectare area. According to the plan of the state government, a target has been set to provide complete irrigation system in a total area of 87,433 hectares by December 2026 and 1,54,693 hectares by December 2027. Apart from this, under other projects of the Water Resources Department, water will also be provided to an additional area of about 30,307 hectares from this tunnel.