MP's petition against ERCP effort to stop rightful water of eastern Rajasthan: Gehlot

Jaipur, Feb 23 (IANS) Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday termed the petition filed by the Madhya Pradesh government in the Supreme Court to stay the work on the Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP) an attempt to deprive his state of its share of water.

The Madhya Pradesh government is trying to stop the work of the ERCP to stop the water of 13 districts of east Rajasthan including Jhalawar, Baran, Kota, Bundi, Tonk, Sawai Madhopur, Karauli, Dholpur, Bharatpur, Dausa, Alwar, Jaipur, and Ajmer, he said.

Gehlot said that the DPR of Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project is in accordance with the Guidelines 2010 of the Central Water Commission. The ERCP came up as per the decision of Rajasthan-Madhya Pradesh Interstate State Control Board meeting, and Madhya Pradesh built Kundalia and Mohanpura dams on the basis of this decision, he added.

The Chief Minister said that according to the data of the Central Water Commission's river gauge station at Dholpur, on an average, 19,000 million cubic metres of water is wasted every year in Chambal and goes into the sea, while the ERCP requires only 3,500 million cubic metres of water.

The state government is trying to divert this wasted water through ERCP to meet the drinking water and irrigation water needs of the people of Rajasthan, he said.

Gehlot claimed that the Central and Madhya Pradesh governments are making undue efforts to stop the rightful water of eastern Rajasthan. "Water is a very important subject for the state. Creating legal hurdles in the implementation of the ERCP is playing with the future of the state, he said, adding that the Rajasthan Government is committed to complete the ERCP for the better future of the people of the state.

The state government will strongly put forth its point in favor of ERCP on every platform and by winning the battle for its rights will work to remove the water crisis in eastern Rajasthan, Gehlot said.