Poor jal jeevan outcomes in Raj raise concerns, says Shekhawat

Jaipur: Union Jal Shakti minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said on Friday that Rajasthan ranks third from the bottom in performance in Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) for 2022-23 despite being allocated “the highest funds” by the Centre. He said the state secured a substantial budget of Rs 29,000 crore under JJM for 2022-23.
Speaking at an event of BJP in Sawai Madhopur, Shekhawat said the poor outcomes of JJM in the state raise concerns about the Congress-led government’s commitment to the programme.
He also refuted the claims of CM Ashok Gehlot that Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP) would provide water to 13 districts. “ERCP will provide drinking water only to three cities—Jaipur, Ajmer and Tonk—under the present exercise by the government. The Rajasthan government would be spending Rs 15,000 crore to Rs 16,000 crore to get 521 million cubic meters of water, which is not sufficient for 13 districts. Had the Gehlot government revised the old ERCP as per the set standards, all 13 districts of eastern Rajasthan would have got water for drinking and irrigation,” said Shekhawat.
Giving credit for ERCP to former CM Vasundhara Raje, Shekhawat said, “In 2016, Vasundharaji’s government conceptualised ERCP. Instead of the country’s fixed standard of 75%, it was made at 50 percent dependability, which was not approved by the Centre. Before this could be rectified, Vasundharaji’s government got replaced.” The Union minister accused Congress of never being interested in ERCP and said that in 2019, CM Ashok Gehlot had written a letter to Madhya Pradesh’s then Congress CM Kamal Nath, seeking his cooperation on the project, but later had a U-turn. Shekhawat also accused the Gehlot government of not granting approval for a new project connecting ERCP and Parwati-Kalibhangan river.
“The new project will get Rajasthan 2,500 MCM of water. It will meet the drinking water and irrigation needs of all the 13 districts. This project will cost Rs 40,000 crore, including Rs 36,000 to be met by the Centre, while the remaining part will be borne by the state government. Gehlot is not giving approval for it due to political reasons while Madhya Pradesh has given it an in-principle approval,” he added.