Gujarat Approves ₹1,700 Crore Badalpur-Kareli Barrage-cum-Bridge on Mahi River in Anand District
The Gujarat government has granted in-principle approval for the proposed Badalpur-Kareli Barrage-cum-Bridge across the Mahi River near Dhuvaran in Anand district, at an estimated cost of ₹1,700 crore. Survey work for the project has been ordered to proceed on a priority basis.
The project involves construction of a bridge structure around two kilometres long within the 4.5-kilometre-wide riverbed of the Mahi. About 70 gates will be installed to regulate river flow, with protective embankments along the remaining stretch. The design will incorporate flood-control systems intended to keep the crossing and water storage functional during heavy rainfall and flooding.
The barrage is expected to store close to 183 million cubic metres of freshwater that currently drains into the Arabian Sea during the monsoon. The stored water is intended to support irrigation, industrial use and drinking water supply, and to address salinity intrusion currently affecting groundwater up to roughly 50 km inland, across an estimated 16,000 hectares of land.
As a transport link, the barrage-cum-bridge is expected to cut travel distance between the Khambhat-Tarapur and Jambusar-Dahej industrial regions by about 75 km, improving connectivity between the Dahej Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemicals Investment Region (PCPIR) and the Khambhat-Tarapur industrial belt.
The project is expected to benefit more than 1.5 million people across roughly 80 villages spanning Anand, Vadodara and Bharuch districts, covering both drinking water access and irrigation support. No construction timeline or contractor has been announced at this stage.