GEHLOT REITERATES NATIONAL PROJECT STATUS FOR ERCP

Jaipur: Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has said that the East Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP) worth `37,200 crore is an ambitious project of the state. “With this the drinking water requirements of 13 districts will be met and irrigation facility will be developed in 2 lakh hectare area. The project should be given the status of a project of national importance by the central government on the basis of the ratio of 90:10. It will be completed in 10 years, due to which the drinking water problem of about 40 percent population of the state will be solved,” Gehlot said while chairing an orientation workshop on ERCP at CMR on Saturday. He said that in the year 2018, during the rallies at Jaipur and Ajmer, PM had spoken about ERCP and “gave assurance of the status of a national project, but in last 4 years no work has been done in this direction, rather obstacles are being put in its implementation”.

The CM said that water is a state subject as per the Constitution and it is immoral that Centre is putting obstacles. Gehlot said “Madhya Pradesh’s objection on ERCP is baseless. MP made its project according to the decision of inter-state meeting of the year 2005 and when the turn of Rajasthan came, the work of roadblocking was done. The CM said that Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat is creating obstacles in ERCP. Govt wouldn’t allow farmers to suffer & thus, govt won’t remove provision of irrigation in this project. Gehlot said that due to unnecessary delays by Centre, ERCP will become like Refinery in Rajasthan. There is a possibility of an unexpected increase in ERCP cost, due to which, the common man and the farmer will be deprived of govt benefits & there will be unnecessary burden on the state exchequer.

The Chief Minister said that according to the data of 36 years obtained from the River Gauge Station of Central Water Commission at Dholpur, on an average 19,000 million cubic meters and on 75 % dependence, 11 thousand 200 million cubic meters of water gets wasted every year through Yamuna river.