PATNA/AURANGABAD: Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi will on Saturday lay the foundation stone for the completion of the remaining 20% of work on the North Koel Reservoir, also known as Mandal Dam Project, which envisages completion of the construction of dam at Kutku and a barrage at Mohammadganj in Palamu district of Jharkhand The project is expected to augment the irrigation potential in the Palamu and Garhwa districts of Jharkhand and Aurangabad and Gaya districts of Bihar. Water from Kutku dam channelized through the canal network will provide irrigation potential in 1.11 lakh hectares of land in the two Bihar districts and another swathe of 19,604 hectares of land in Palamu and Garhwa districts.The project also involves streamlining of the unauthorized constructions which have been constructed in Jharkhand for drawing water from the dam.“The process regarding clearance of tender and allotment of work order to the selected agency has been completed. The detailed project report (DPR) has also been prepared. It has set the stage for the laying of foundation stone by PM Modi for the start of the work for incomplete portion of the project,” Bihar water resources department (WRD) sources said.“Bihar is getting water from the incomplete dam to irrigate around 55,000 hectares of land in its territory. The completion of the project will benefit both Bihar and Jharkhand,” the Bihar WRD source said.A Bihar WRD official said two years ago, the PM had expressed interest in the work required for the completion of the project that had started in 1972 and continued in a piecemeal manner till 1993 after which the work was stalled due to objections from the Union forest and environment ministry as there was submergence threat to 4,700 hectares of Betla National Park land in Jharkhand.After the environment ministry’s clearance last year, Rs 1,622.24 crore worth of required finances were raised from National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) under a special scheme.Aurangabad BJP MP Sushil Kumar Singh said he led a team of MPs to the PM, requesting him to lay the foundation stone of the project. The function in this regard will be held at Daltonganj.The project is executed on the North Koel river, which is a tributary of the Sone. The proposed dam will store 190 million cubic meter of water.Once the dam is completed, the Centre will provide funds for acquisition of land by the Jharkhand government for the Tiger Reserve Area. The Patna high court had earlier directed the Centre, Jharkhand and Bihar governments to complete the work soon.