Centre grants Rs 730 cr for Narmada project in Gujarat

The Union government will provide Rs 730 crore by way of grant for the Narmada project, touted as the ‘Lifeline of Gujarat’.

Gujarat government had sought monies from the Centre to complete the project and for networking the canals connecting Sardar Sarovar Dam to optimise benefits across the state.

“Narmada project has been considered as one of the major 99 irrigation projects of the country. Centre has sanctioned a grant of Rs 730 crore. Additionally, Rs 1500 crore by way of soft loan at low interest has also been sanctioned for other irrigation projects in the state,” Nitin Patel, Deputy Chief Minister, Gujarat, said. “We have set the target of completing the Narmada project by December 2019.”

Once complete, the waters from this Rs 13,000-crore project would benefit 17 districts of the state and have a command area spanning over 27,000 sq km.

While the dam and major canals have been operational for over a decade, the remaining works consist mostly of building a network of minor and sub minor canals as well as tributaries that take the last stretch of water to the fields.