Centre committed to ensuring regular supply of water in 13 Rajasthan districts: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the Centre is committed to ensuring a regular supply of water for drinking and irrigation purposes in the 13 districts of eastern Rajasthan.

He said a draft plan for a major project, combining the Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP) and the old Parvati-Kalisindh-Chambal link, has been shared by the Centre with the governments of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

"The draft has been included in the list of priority-based projects by the special committee on rivers. The Centre will definitely think of advancing it when the governments of both the states agree on it," Modi said at a public rally organised by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Rajasthan's Dausa district.

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Earlier, at another programme held a few kilometres away, where Modi inaugurated the first phase of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot reminded the prime minister that he had promised to accord priority to the ERCP at his election rallies in the past.

Addressing the gathering through a video link from the chief minister's residence in Jaipur, Gehlot said during his election rallies in Jaipur and Ajmer in the past, Modi had said a decision would be taken on giving priority to the project. "It is expected that you will say something on the ERCP," the Congress leader said.

Modi said the people of Rajasthan have showered a lot of affection on the BJP but their progress would have been fast if there was a "double-engine" government in the state.

He asserted that solving the problem of drinking water in Rajasthan is the priority of the BJP-led government at the Centre.

The prime minister said the work on the Ken-Betwa river-linking project between Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh is about to start and similarly, the Centre is also committed to ensuring a regular supply of water for drinking and irrigation purposes in the 13 districts of eastern Rajasthan.

The ruling Congress in Rajasthan has been demanding that the Centre accord the status of a national project to the ERCP, which was conceptualised by the previous BJP government in the state led by Vasundhara Raje.

Dausa is one of the 13 districts covered under the project.

In his address, Gehlot also raised other demands related to infrastructure development in the state.

He said it was agreed in principle that 50 roads in Rajasthan will be converted into national highways, but a gazette notification to that effect is yet to be issued. The chief minister also said the detailed project report (DPR) of an elevated road in Jodhpur has been prepared and the project needs to be taken up further.

He said it is expected that the pending proposals of the state government will be cleared by the Centre.

Gehlot also highlighted the efforts of his government towards road and infrastructure development. He said 54,000 kilometres of roads have been laid in the state in the last four years and the work for an additional 46,000 kilometres is on.

Besides, a budgetary provision of Rs 20,000 crore has been made for infrastructure development, Gehlot added.

He said as a result of these efforts, investment is increasing in Rajasthan and his government is developing industrial areas at the block level.

The chief minister also pointed out that according to a survey conducted by the Centre, Rajasthan ranks second in the country in terms of growth rate.

Recalling the contributions of former prime ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh as regards highway construction and infrastructure development, Gehlot also lauded Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari for the initiatives taken by him in this sector.

Later in the day, Gehlot also took to Twitter to highlight the issue of ECRP.

"Honourable Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi ji, you missed a good opportunity today. The people of the state would have welcomed you had you fulfilled the assurance made before the last Assembly polls that the status of a national project would be given to the ERCP."

"Availability of water for drinking and irrigation purposes is very important for 13 districts in Rajasthan. The state government is taking forward the work related to the ERCP with its own resources. The prime minister should declare it a national project so that the work gets momentum and people get water," he said in a series of tweets in Hindi.

Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot also tweeted on the issue.

"The prime minister came to Rajasthan for the second time in 15 days, but no step was taken even today towards giving the status of a national project to the ERCP. The project is a lifeline for 13 districts and a question of prosperity for lakhs of people. It is not right to refrain from giving it the status of a national project," Pilot wrote on Twitter.

The Assembly polls in Rajasthan are due later in the year.