Express News Service
JAIPUR: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has announced that the ERCP (Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project) will be completed despite the Centre stopping work and not giving it the status of a ‘national project’.
The project will provide water to the people of 13 districts, but it has been caught up in Centre-state politics. It had taken a new turn a few days ago, after the Centre’s directive to stop work in view of “lack of consent” by Madhya Pradesh.
The issue of declaring it a national project was echoed in the meeting of Congress leaders on Wednesday.
Gehlot, AICC state in-charge Ajay Maken and state party president Govind Dotasra addressed the gathering, comprising over 2,000 representatives from the affected districts.
“I would like to announce, even if the Central government does not declare the ERCP as a national project, the Rajasthan government will complete the project,” Gehlot said.
He was addressing the people’s representatives of 13 districts here, which will benefit from ERCP.
Gehlot said that the state government is not begging, but it is asking for its right.
He said that the Centre has written a letter to the state government to stop the work for ERCP citing inter-state consensus issues, but they should know that water is a subject matter of the state and not the Central government.
“It is our water and catchment area, and we are using our resources. I would like to ask Prime Minister Narendra Modi, why did your ministry write to us to stop the work? Water is a subject matter of state. I would like to say in front of everyone that I am not going to stop its work at any cost,” Gehlot said.
The chief minister further said that the Centre will send investigative agencies like ED and CBI after finding some lacuna.
“They are very dangerous people. They can do anything. They will create pressure and threaten us. But, we are not going to be afraid, whatever you may do. We will move forward,” Gehlot said.
Earlier, Gehlot had said that the ruling Congress would run a signature campaign regarding the project and connect the general public so that pressure was mounted on the Centre to give ERCP the status of a national project.
“We want to tell the prime minister and the home minister that we are not doing any politics. We want that this important scheme for 13 districts gets the status of a national project,” he said.
He said that the prime minister had announced in Jaipur and Ajmer meetings to consider this project sensitively and with a positive attitude, but nothing happened after that.
The chief minister said that despite its limited resources, the state government has continued the work on this project with a budget of Rs 9,600 crore.
The ERCP, which will ensure the availability of drinking and irrigation water in 13 districts of the state, is worth more than Rs 37,000 crore.
Gehlot said that 16 projects in the country have the status of national project, so why can’t Rajasthan get such status for a project.
“We are not begging, we are asking for our rights,” he said.
In his address, Gehlot also hit out at 25 NDA MPs from the state, especially Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, for not getting the project status of a national project.
Referring to the use of the word ‘Nikamma’ (useless) for Shekhawat, he said, “When children quarrel among themselves in the neighbourhood and someone goes to complain about the other child, they say that he is very Nikamma and Nakara. Let me call him and I will scold him. This is what said for our kids.”
He said, “This is what I say many times that he (Shekhawat) is Nikamma, Nakara. This means that he is a kid and he must have made a mistake, I will scold him.”
“Sometimes it is also said with love. Now, when I say it out of love, many people feel bad. What do I do about it?” he added.
On July 2, Gehlot, while targeting Shekhawat, had used the word ‘Nikamma’ against him.
All India Congress Committee general secretary and Rajasthan in-charge Ajay Maken, state Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra, and several ministers in the state government also addressed the meeting.
Congress MLAs and other public representatives of 13 districts, including Bharatpur, Alwar, Kota, Baran, Jhalawar, Sawai Madhopur, Tonk, Ajmer, Jaipur, Dausa, Karauli, Bundi and Dholpur, participated in the programme.
Gehlot said he is not going to stop the ERCP. “I have kept Rs 9,600 crore for this. The Union Jal Shakti Ministry has told the chief secretary to stop the work. Water is a state subject. I am not going to turn it off.”
The blueprint for ERCP, estimated to cost over Rs 40,000 crore, was drawn by the former BJP government and it even received PM Narendra Modi’s nod. But in 2018, when Congress replaced BJP, the project got derailed.
Jal Shakti minister and Jodhpur MP Gajendra Singh Shekhawat is refusing to make any promise.
He recently asked the state government to stop the ERCP work until the inter-state issues get resolved.
The BJP also says Gehlot is playing politics on ERCP to hide his failure in governance, and that an all-party meeting should discuss the project.
Under the campaign, the party leaders and state ministers have targeted the Centre for not giving the status despite the fact that the project was introduced by the previous BJP government.
The Rajasthan government has been continuously demanding the status of a national project for this project.
The Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee launched the campaign on Twitter.
Statements of various ministers and office bearers were also shared on the official Twitter handle of the party.
Food and Civil Supplies Minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas said, “This is not a political fight, but BJP has made it a political issue for which it will have to pay the price.”
Women and Child Development Minister Mamta Bhupesh said, “The Narendra Modi government at the Centre is treating Rajasthan as second class. It is unfortunate that the ERCP is not being declared a national project despite the Prime Minister’s statement. It won’t be tolerated.”
Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Tikaram Jully said that Prime Minister Modi is not declaring it a national project despite mentioning about the ERCP in public meetings in Jaipur and Ajmer.
Several party office bearers also shared a video message demanding the status of a national project for the ERCP.
The proposed canal project is worth more than Rs 37,000 crore.
The Detailed Project Report (DPR) of this project was sent to the Central Water Commission in 2017.
The districts to be benefited from this project are Bharatpur, Alwar, Kota, Baran, Jhalawar, Sawai Madhopur, Tonk, Ajmer, Jaipur, Dausa, Karauli, Bundi and Dholpur.
(With PTI Inputs)
