₹30kcr Chambal project gets Central nod, 13 dists to benefit

BOUNTY Centre’s approval will solve major part of the project’s funding, says state official The Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the the project will be completed in the coming weeks following which we will send a proposal to the Union government to declare it a project of national importance

The Central Water Commission (CWC) has given clearance to an ambitious ₹30,000 crore canal project of the Vasundhara Raje-led government in Rajasthan aiming to take Chambal river water to 13 parched districts of the state.

“We have got the approval from the CWC for the Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP). The Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the the project will be completed in the coming weeks following which we will send a proposal to the Union government to declare it a project of national importance,” Rajasthan River Basin and Water Resources Planning Authority chairperson Sriram Vedire told PTI. He said the Centre’s approval will solve major portion of the project’s funding.

Vedire said the mega project, announced by chief minister Vasundhara Raje in the 2017-18 budget, aims to make available the Chambal river water to the people in 13 districts to meet their drinking and irrigation requirements.

The 13 districts include Bundi, Kota, Bharatpur, Dholpur, Karauli, Swai Madhopur, Baran, Jhalawar, Jaipur, Tonk, Dausa and Alwar. “The project would meet the irrigation requirements of nearly 10 lakh acre land used in crop cultivation,” the official said.

A radar survey for project’s feasibility has already been conducted, he said.

The official said the state has cleared the first step by getting hydrology clearance from the CWC. “We will now prepare the DPR and send it to the Centre,” he said, adding “if approved, it will be a project similar to the country’s largest Indira Gandhi Canal Project that paved the way for Green Revolution in desert districts in the western parts of the state”.

Vedire said the project, which will be implemented in three phases, will also provide a boost to the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) in Alwar district of the state, thus paving the way for employment generation for the youths of the state.

The first phase will be from Galwa Dam to Dholpur, the second from from Galwa to Bisalpur-Isarda and the third from Galwa to Alwar, respectively.