308 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
with a view to ascertain the possibilities of irrigation, navigation, power development and their facilities in the delta as well as in the drainage area as a whole. Investigations so far carried out have been mostly limited to the delta, although some work had been done in 1862 on the survey of dam sites for small reservoirs on the five tributaries of the Mahanadi, namely, the Telcoma, the Ibcoma, the Maudcoma, the Hasd and the Jonk.
“The Central Waterways, Irrigation and Navigation Commission constituted by the Government of India under the chairmanship of the able and well-known irrigation engineer, Rai Bahadur Khosla, is shortly going to initiate hydrological and other surveys of Orissa rivers as part of their enquiry. It will be necessary for provinces and states to undertake connected surveys in conjunction with, and under the general direction and supervision of, the Commission.
Submergence Of Areas
“Before closing”, Dr. Ambedkar observed, “I would like to draw the attention of the parties which have met at this conference to two points. They are intimately connected with the success of the project and about which they will have to make up their mind at an early date. First is their readiness to consider the question of submergence of land. Reservoirs formed by construction of dams will submerge large areas of land, both in Orissa and the Eastern States. If these dams are carried higher up the river or its tributaries, certain areas in the Central Provinces will also be submerged. This question will need to be considered in detail in relation to the over-all benefits of the integrated scheme.”
“Submergence of areas will be inevitable if the waters of the rivers have to be conserved for beneficial use instead of being allowed to run waste and to work havoc en route. The resulting benefits from a scheme of united and multipurpose development should far outweigh loss of lands due to submergence. This project can be a success only if it is treated as a regional project. It cannot succeed with a local treatment. The province of Orissa will fail if it were to take up a project confined to its own boundaries. The same will be the reuslt if an Orissa State were to make a similar attempt.
“The project being essentially regional, it raises the question of submergence of State and Provincial sovereignty to the extent