New Delhi: An agreement was reached between Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan regarding sharing of water in the Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project(ERCP).The agreement was signed in the presence of Union Jal Shakti Minister Shekhawat, Chief Minister BhajanLal and Mohan Yadav in Delhi.
Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project(ERCP):
ERCP got the status of national project. The main advantage of getting the status of national project will be that the central government will give 90% of the money to complete this project. The estimated cost of ERCP is around Rs 40,000 crore.
This project will benefit 13 districts of Madhya Pradesh and 13 districts of Rajasthan. Under this project, 7 dams will be built in Madhya Pradesh.
What is ERCP?
The Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP) is to utilize the waste monsoon water available in Kalisindh, Parvati, Mej and Chakan sub-basins. Inter basin transfer of water within the Chambal basin was envisaged by diverting it into water deficient sub-basins of Banas, Gambhiri, Banganga. Upon completion of the scheme, availability of drinking and industrial water to 13 districts of Eastern Rajasthan will be ensured.
The project envisages irrigation in approximately 2.82 lakh hectare area. During the assembly elections, Congress had made this project an election issue in 83 assembly constituencies of 13 districts, apparently this project was conceived during the Vasundhara Raje government. An expenditure of Rs 40 thousand crore is estimated on this scheme. The districts that will benefit from the scheme include Alwar, Dausa, Jaipur, Ajmer, Tonk, Sawai Madhopur, Bundi, Kota, Baran, Jhalawar, Bharatpur, Dholpur and Karauli.
Purpose of ERCP?
The objective of ERCP is to utilize the surplus water available during the rainy season in the Chambal River and its tributaries (Kunnu, Parvati, Kalisindh) flowing in southern Rajasthan, in the south-eastern districts of the state where there is shortage of drinking water and irrigation water.
It is proposed to provide drinking water in 13 districts of Rajasthan and water for irrigation of 2.8 lakh hectares of land through 26 various large and medium projects.
The 13 districts include Jhalawar, Baran, Kota, Bundi, Sawai Madhopur, Ajmer, Tonk, Jaipur, Karauli, Alwar, Bharatpur, Dausa and Dholpur.
The ERCP is planned to be completed by the year 2051 to meet the needs of drinking water for humans and water for industrial activities in southern and south-eastern Rajasthan.
मुझे इस बात की प्रसन्नता है कि अपने-अपने राज्यों में नवगठित सरकारों के साथ मध्यप्रदेश एवं राजस्थान
— Dr Mohan Yadav (@DrMohanYadav51) January 28, 2024
विकास पथ पर निरंतर आगे बढ़ रहे हैं।
आदरणीय प्रधानमंत्री श्री @narendramodi जी के कुशल मार्गदर्शन में दोनों राज्य एक-दूसरे के सहयोग के लिए तत्पर हैं।
इसी क्रम में आज राजस्थान… https://t.co/GxMrywKq57
Benefits of ERCP:
ERCP will provide irrigation facilities in important land areas. Besides, the groundwater table in rural areas of the state will improve. There will be positive changes in the social and economic condition of the people. The project, with particular emphasis on the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC), envisages that it will promote sustainable water sources that will help grow industries in the region.
In the Rajasthan Assembly elections, both the parties had made this project an election issue and accused each other.
In the year 2017-18, the then Vasundhara Raje government of BJP had planned ERCP for the districts suffering from water shortage. But, there was a dispute between Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan regarding the distribution of Chambal water.
The previous Ashok Gehlot government had written letters to the Modi government at the Center several times to declare this project as a central project. The Gehlot government had also released a budget of about Rs 14 thousand crores.
