World Bank-Funded Mid-Himalayan Watershed Project Turns into a Dry Scam in Himachal – Little Water, Only Corruption Flows
Shimla | March 22, 2025
On World Water Day 2025, with the theme ‘Glacier Preservation’, the irony couldn’t be starker in Himachal Pradesh.
The Mid-Himalayan Watershed Development Project (MHWDP) – once pitched as a game-changer for water conservation in the fragile Himalayan belt – has become a classic case of how public money and World Bank aid are siphoned off in the name of environment and sustainability.
Despite over ₹1,043 crore pumped into this project since 2005-06, ground reality is grim.
Official claims of constructing 8,900 rainwater harvesting structures fall flat as most of these tanks in Shimla, Mandi, Solan, and Kullu are either dry or reduced to debris.
Forget glacier preservation, these tanks aren’t holding even a mug of water. Blame is on incessant rains and flash floods in 2023 and 2024.
Congress Now Sitting on the Same Scam It Once Exposed
Ironically, the Congress government—which once cried foul over BJP’s handling of MHWDP and demanded a third-party probe back in 2014—is now comfortably sitting on the same rotting pile.
Same nexus, same corruption—only faces have changed. No third-party audit, no accountability.
Locals claim each tank costs around ₹7 lakh, but on ground, it’s a glorified headed CONCRETE pit with no water—just another easy payday for the contractor-babu mafia.
Funds, But No Water – Where Did It Go?
The Himachal Forest Department’s own website pegs massive spending under watershed structures and afforestation drives, but a field visit in Shimla’s Shoghi, Mashobra, Chopal and Jubbal-Kotkhai, Rohru reveals the bitter truth—empty concrete tanks, broken retaining walls, collapsed check dams.
Villagers allege officials sign off payments without physical verification. Drone and third audits are non-existent, and when questioned, officials parrot the same line—"structures are functional."
World Water Day Irony – Glacier Theme, But Tanks Bone Dry
As the world talks of saving glaciers, Himachal’s model water project is nothing but a hotbed of corruption.
If this is how “glacier preservation” is happening on the ground, future water wars aren’t far.
Environmentalists warn that this model is now being showcased in the many places as a success, while locals here are left high and dry.
No monitoring, no public audit, and no action on corrupt officials or contractors.
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