AHMEDABAD: Political parties in Gujarat are actively courting voters by championing the Narmada project, hailing it as the lifeline of the state, particularly for the regions of Saurashtra and Kutch.
While the primary canal project was completed in 2008, progress on the sub-minor canals, crucial for transporting Narmada waters to fields, has been sluggish. In the initial five months of the current fiscal year, only 147.641 kilometres of new sub-minor canals were constructed, according to the Narmada and Water Resources Department’s Progress report.
The river spans a total length of 1312 kilometres (815 miles) from its source to the sea, with a length of 1163 kilometres up to the dam site. The report outlines a target of 46,157 kilometres of sub-minor canals by March 2023. As of August 30, 2023, 41,432 kilometres of canal work had been completed, with an additional 147.641 kilometres of sub-minor canal. The state government has an ambitious plan to lay a total of 69,497 kilometres of canals, encompassing main, branch, distributor, minor, and sub-minor canals. However, progress on the latter three types is still underway, with only 12.391 kilometres of distributor canals completed and the distributory canals falling short of the target by 160 kilometres.
The government aimed to irrigate 17, 92,328 hectares of agricultural land with Narmada waters but, as of August, water had reached only 17, 15,673 hectares. The expenditure on the project has been significant, with Rs 73,133.93 crores spent by March 2022, including Rs 16,076.83 crores in the 2021-22 fiscal year, primarily on loan interest payments.
The Narmada canal transports water from the Sardar Sarovar dam to Gujarat and Rajasthan, spanning a length of 532 km—485 km within Gujarat and 75 km within Rajasthan. It ranks as the country’s fifth-largest river and holds the title of the largest river in Gujarat Former Chief Minister Suresh Mehta alleges fraud, claiming that the original plan aimed for 85,000 kilometres of canals but was later reduced to 69,000 kilometres.
He questions how, with a reduced canal network, the command or irrigation area can remain the same as per the initial plan. Mehta further contends that the state government has spent over Rs one lakh crore by the end of the 2022-23 fiscal year, surpassing the original expenditure estimate, reflecting a total mismanagement of Gujarat’s vital lifeline.