Two BJP-ruled neighbours still spar over Chambal waters

The states have an agreement to share water in equal proportion but Madhya Pradesh accused Rajasthan of exceeding the 50:50 ratio and exposing it to the wrath of farmers in the command area.

In an official note, the MP government accused Rajasthan of reneging on its promise of releasing MP8217;s share from the Kota barrage. MP is supposed to get 3900 cusec of water from the Chambal Main Canal right but the note gave figures for the last 10 years to prove that it has been getting much less than Rajasthan. MP has now agreed to pay Rajasthan more than Rs 20 crore it did not pay earlier. A Rajasthan bureaucrat claimed the amount was much more.

Rajasthan blames seepage from the earthen canal and MP8217;s inability to regularly provide funds for repairs for the loss of water. MP suggested engaging an independent agency to monitor the discharge of water presently controlled by Rajasthan. Monday8217;s meeting agreed upon monitoring by officials from both states to avoid disputes in future. The canal runs 124 km from Kota to Parvati aqueduct, the entry point in MP.

MP8217;s Water Resources Minister Anup Mishra and his counterpart Sanvarlal Jat said the meeting agreed on strengthening and renovation of the canal at a cost of Rs 540 crore with the help of the World Bank, which is already funding Water Sector Restructuring Projects in these two states. MP8217;s share of expenditure will be 75.6 per cent while Rajasthan will spend the remainder.

In the past Rajasthan has blamed lesser intake of water in Kota barrage on the several small dams built by MP in the upstream of Gandhisagar dam. MP on its part has blamed the shortfall on lack of rainfall.

The past differences also came in way of finalizing the interlinking of Parvati-Kalisindh-Chambal rivers, a project initiated by NDA government in 2003. Though both states had agreed in-principle for the project for which National Water Development Authority had prepared a report.

NWDA had suggested three options by which the inter-linking could be executed but Rajasthan government objected to it in its present form.

Monday8217;s meeting decided to constitute a committee comprising principal secretaries water resources department, engineers-in-chief and chief engineers of both the states.

The committee has been given 60 days to submit a detailed report on the proposed project. The two ministers agreed that the two sides did not agree on certain data.