Gandhinagar : Amid a situation of scarcity in parts of Saurashtra and Kutch, Gujarat govt is learnt to have made a formal proposal of utilising additional water from the Narmada project and compensating states partnering in the project with electricity.
Details of how much additional Narmada water will be allocated to Gujarat and what amount of power the state will provide to the partner states in return will be worked out soon,” said a highly placed state govt source. “A formal proposal has been made by Gujarat to the three other partnering states at the RCNCA. The other states have in-principle agreed to the proposal.
The proposal was made at the Review Committee of the Narmada Control Authority (RCNCA) meeting on Tuesday in Delhi which was chaired by Union Jal Shakti minister C R Paatil and attended by Gujarat chief minister Bhupendra Patel and the chief ministers of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan.
Resolution of inter-state issues is important for ensuring the effective utilization of the river’s water resources and strengthening coordination among the project’s beneficiary states, the government said, adding that the meeting reflected the spirit of cooperative federalism under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The statement said state chief secretary M K Das joined the meeting through video conferencing. For Gujarat, the Narmada is a critical resource for irrigation, drinking water supply and regional development. Additional principal secretary to the chief minister Vikrant Pandey and other senior officials also participated alongside Patel.