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- Ahmedabad: Water and Energy are vital for the sustainable development of any region and in this backdrop, contribution of SardarSarovar Project has been more than what it had promised, said Mr. B. N. Navalawala, Adviser to CM, Gujarat on water resources. Strongly objecting the sweeping remark of a political observer during a lecture at IIMA on 8th June that “Narmada dam project has done little for Gujarat”, Mr. Navalawala wondered as to whether Prof. Shah is at all aware of the fact that this “little” means more than 108 billion cubic meter of water and 41,800 million units of eco-friendly hydropower! According to the media report appeared in Ahmedabad Mirror on 9th June, Prof. Ghanshyam Shah, Political observer had said in his lecture at IIMA that “the project, whose idea was born in early 1980s due to water scarcity in Kutch, failed to address the issue”. Idea of this inter-state project dates back to pre-independence which was given final shape by the Narmada Water Dispute Tribunal in 1979 after a decade long deliberation and since then the project has successfully overcome all the hurdles and is now in its advance stage of completion with the Dam completed and dedicated to the Nation in September 2017 and more than 58,000 km length of canal completed so far.
- Narmada water is being flown up to Bhachau, Kutch which is 600 km away from the SardarSarovar Dam, after lifting by 54 meter in three stages. Tappar dam, the main sources of drinking water for the entire Kutch has been filled twice with Narmada water in the current water year.Tappar dam supplies water to Kandla, Gandhidham, Adipur&Anjar. Recently Suvai dam &Fatehgadh dam are also filled with Narmada water. 7 Municipal Corporations, 165 towns and 8591 villages of Gujarat are getting Narmada water to satisfy their drinking and domestic water demands, benefitting about 40million population, if the word “little” is to be elaborated, said Mr. Navalawala. Even in Kutch district, 14 cities/ towns and 877 villages are getting Narmada water for drinking. But only a thirsty person can appreciate its true value and not a person, living the cosy life in a city which is critically dependent on about 1100 MLD of Narmada water being supplied uninterruptedly, even during this hot season!
- As regards irrigation, potential has been created in 15.77 lakh hectare out of ultimate planned 17.92 lakh hectare. In January 2018, a study carried out by Bhaskaracharya Institute of Space Application and Geo-Informatics (BISAG) with the help of satellite imagery reported that 8.32 lakh hectare was getting benefit of Rabi irrigation and even in Kutch, where the canal network is still under construction, 16,530 hectare area was being irrigated with Narmada water in Rapar and Bhachau Taluka and even in the desert area. Is it a little benefit? asked Mr. Navalawala.
- Reacting sharply to the statement made by Prof.Ghanshyam Shah that “…while people of the state have been grappling with water scarcity, industries are getting it without any caps.”, the Adviser to CM said that “As per NWDT award & Water Use Plan, annually only 0.20 MAF of water is earmarked for Industries, out of total 9.0 MAF water which is just 2.2%. However, actual water use for Industries has so far never exceeded this limit. This year total water available is only 4.80 MAF, of which 0.06 MAF water is allocated for industrial use against which, so far, 0.03 MAF water is given to industries, which works out to a tiny 0.5 % of the total water usage in the current water year. As against this, 4.36 MAF water is given for irrigation, i.e. more than 80% of total water consumption is for irrigation purpose.Also, Mr. Navalawala expected Prof. Shah, as a responsible political observer, should have thoroughly checked up all the facts and figure before making a statement without any legitimacy. Further, he added that any critique is welcome, provided it is substantiated with facts and figures. Conspicuous lack of information and understanding results into undermining the real contribution of the project, something like denial of sun amidst bright day light, said Mr. Navalawala.
Tags Adviser to CM Gujarat Mr. B. N. Navalawala
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