Prof. Soz congratulates people of Rajasthan for flow of Narmada river water to Barmer and Jalore
Prof. Saifuddin Soz, the Union Minister for Water Resources has expressed his satisfaction over the flow of Narmada river waters to the drought-prone districts of Barmer and Jalore in Rajasthan through the Narmada Canal project. Prof. Soz has congratulated the people of Rajasthan and expressed the hope that this will be of immense benefit to the people of the State.
Sardar Sarovar Project, it may be mentioned, envisages construction of 458 km. long main canal in Gujarat to deliver 2500 cusec of water at the Gujarat and Rajasthan border near village Silu, Tehsil Sanchore, District Barmer (Rajasthan). There is a 74 km. main canal in the Jalore and Barmer districts in Rajasthan for utilizing allocated share of 0.5 million acre feet of Narmada water in Rajasthan.
Prof. Soz said, the Union Ministry of Water Resources has been providing 90% assistance to the Government of Rajasthan for construction of the project. Similarly, the Government of India has also provided assistance under AIBP to the Government of Gujarat for the construction of main canal in Gujarat.
The Central AIBP assistance provided to Gujarat and Rajasthan is Rs. 4887 crore and Rs.625 crore respectively for the Sardar Sarovar Project and the Canal System. Prof. Soz said that this was the highest allocation for any single project.
Referring to the overall policy of the Union Government, Prof. Soz said that the assistance was also being provided to the Government of Rajasthan in project planning and in water management planning like the use of drip and sprinkler irrigation, etc. As a result of this, the command area of the project has increased from 75000 hectare to 2.46 lakh hectare to serve 233 villages besides providing drinking water to a population of about 3.7 lakh in 1107 villages and two towns along the irrigation canal.
About the delay caused in the construction of the 4 major structures on the Narmada Main Canal, the Union Minister for Water Resources said that the problem was overcome by construction of a by-pass arrangement for ensuring early delivery of water to Rajasthan.
It may be mentioned that the Sardar Sarovar Project has started releasing 50 cusec of water from the main canal w.e.f. 5th February, 2008 and the Narmada water physically reached Rajasthan on 18th March, 2008.
SK/BS
(Release ID :36966)