The Socio-Economic Impact of Pimpalgaon Joga Dam on Rehabilitated Villages in Junnar Tehsil of Pune District, Maharashtra

Abstract

The present study stresses the socio-economic changes that can bring due to rehabilitation of dam affected peoples in Junnar tehsil of Pune district, Maharashtra. The pimpalgaon-Joga dam was constructed in 1999 on river Pushpawati in north-western part of Junnar tehsil. The dam provide socio-economic benefits which can make positive changes in tehsil, besides this positive changes dam may have also many undesirable impacts on local community. In this paper formulate simple methodology to quantify the level of development in the study area. Various socio-economic parameters for assessment of composite score i.e. education 5^th -10^th , 12^th , graduates, post graduates, self-employed, farmers,  job, income above 100000, house pakka/rcc, fertile land, land area more than 5 acre, river, well, borewell, canal etc. were used to assess the impact of victim villages in the study area. For the assessment 156 questionnaire were collected from selected rehabilitated villages. The present study showed that only one village i.e. Madh-pargaon is falling under the category of high development while most of the villages are found in the category of very low development.

                The findings highlight the persistent inequality and limited rehabilitation benefits for most affected communities, emphasizing that infrastructural and economic advancements from dam projects often fail to translate into holistic rural development. The study suggests that sustainable rehabilitation policies, inclusive livelihood programs, and continuous socio-economic monitoring are essential to ensure equitable growth in post-dam settlements.