Narmada project: ‘Work on 5,000 km of canal network pending, to be completed in 2025’

“Of the total 69,497-km canal network, work on 63,773 km is completed and work on 5,724 km is pending…,” Patel said. He added that of this 5,724 km, 724 km has been abandoned. “So now, work on 5,000-km canal network remains. We are planning to take it up on mission mode and complete it by 2025,” he added.

He further said that while work on the main canal (458 km) is complete, work on 2,680 km of the branch canal is almost over and work remains to be completed in an area of 0.64 km. Of the total distributary of 4,619 km, work on only 157 km remains to be completed, Patel added.

While on the minor canal network of 15,582 km, work on 1,006 km is pending, in case of sub-minor canal network of 46,156 km, work on 4,560-km network is pending, said the minister, adding that so far, command area of 15.53 lakh hectare has been developed.

Asked about pending works, Patel said that the same will be completed at the earliest after getting mandatory permissions, acquisition of land and consent of farmers.

Patel also said that two power stations of 21.66 mw capacity are being built over branch canals in Kutch and Saurashtra.