The Kalpasar dam project, envisaged more than a decade ago to resolve the water woes in Saurashtra and Kutch region in Gujarat, is yet to take off, official sources said. The project, which is estimated to cost Rs 33,000 crore, was conceptualised in 1998 to establish a fresh water reservoir at sea by building a dam on the Gulf of Khambhat, with a projected storage capacity of 10,000 million cubic metres (MCM). However, the project is still in study phase, even as the State is grappling with the non-availability of water due to scanty rainfall. “Studies like the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for phase I of the Kalpasar project, comprising a 15-km barrage on the Narmada dam are almost over. All the mandatory clearances for it will be in place by the end of this fiscal,” a top official of Kalpasar project told PTI. “While the requisite clearances for phase II, involving 30-km dam from Bhavnagar to Dahej, are expected to get over by 2013-14,” he said, requesting anonymity. The project proposes construction of a dam on the Gulf of Khambat, leading to creation of a 2,000-sqkm fresh water reservoir. After the completion, it is expected to provide water for drinking and irrigation purposes to parched pockets of the state like Saurashtra and Kutch. It also proposes to link Saurasthra to South Gujarat by a 30-km dam and a ten-laned road, officials said, adding that the project would offer a slew of opportunities for setting up renewable energy projects like solar, wind and tidal