Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Tuesday said the Madhya Pradesh government’s consent is not required for executing the Eastern Rajasthan Canal P🌱roject, citing a decision ☂of an interstate board way back in 2005.
Th𒁏e development comes days after the Centre directed to stop the project, citing the💃 lack of consent from other states.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Tuesday said the Madhya Pradesh government’s consent is not required for executing the Eastern Rajasthan Canal P🌱roject, citing a decision ☂of an interstate board way back in 2005.
Gehlot said he talked to Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan over the phone after which his counterpart ag♌ree꧅d to meet him to build a consensus over the issue.
The development comes days after the Centre directed to stop th🉐e project, citing the lack of consent from other states.
Rajasthan’s Congress government has been lo♏ng demanding that it be given the status of a national project as the canal will benefit 13 districts facing scarcity of water for drinking and irrigation purposes.
Gehlot tweeted𝄹 that the project will receive water from tributaries of the Chambal river in Rajasthan and use less than 10 per cent of the water flowing from Madhya Pradesh.
"Therefore, as per a decision taken in 2005, the consent of Madhya P🉐radesh is not required🌞 for such projects," he tweeted on Tuesday citing the decision taken by a Rajasthan-Madhya Pradesh interstate board.
"In the past, R🦂ajasthan also did not object to the projects constructed by Madhya Pradesh on the Chambal and tributaries like this," Gehlot said.
"Simila🐽rlꦬy, the cooperation of Madhya Pradesh is expected on the ERCP," Gehlot added.
Earlier, the Rajasthan government had said Madhya Pradesh's objection to the ♛project was baseless🐻.
The 🌜Rajasthan government said it prepared a detailed project report in accordance with the decision taken by the interstate board and in compliance with the 2010 guideline꧒s of the Central Water Commission.
The💧 project aims at h♛arvesting surplus water available during the rainy season in the Chambal and its tributaries Kunnu, Parvati and Kalisindh, and use it in 13 districts where there is a scarcity of water for drinking and irrigation purposes.
Jhalawar, Baran, Kota, Bundi, Sawai Madhopur, Ajmer, Tonk, Jaipur, Karauli, Alwar, Bharatpur, Dausa and Dholp🎉ur are the districts that will benefit from the project.
The state government has kept Rs 9,600 cro✤re for the project in this year's budget.
(with inputs from PTI)