Gujarat Using Only 6.4 Per Cent Of Narmada Water

Vijaysinh Parmar TNN
Ahmedabad: On one hand, scores of towns and villages have gone thirsty this summer. On the other, Gujarat government could only provide 6.4 per cent of water available from Sardar Sarovar Project during 2007. This information has been obtained by Him a n s h u Thakkar of ‘South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers, and People’ under the Right to Information Act from the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Limited. Gujarat passed 19.91 BCM (Billion Cubic Meters) of water through its Canal Head Power House (CHPH) and River Bed Power House (RBPH) during 2007. Of this, Gujarat could use only 1.285 BCM water, or 6.4 per cent. The rest flowed into the Arabian Sea because Gujarat does not have the required canal network to make full use of water at SSP dam. “Narmada water is being underutilized because of poor management. Incomplete canal network, lack of proper water management and distribution system has caused this situation to arise,” says Vidyut Joshi, sociologist and pro-Narmada dam activist. As far as canal network is concerned, the scenario is far from optimistic. Just the main canal (458 km) is complete. Out of 2,759 km of branch canals, 1,620 km have been completed. Of the 22,786 km of minor canals, 6,331 km have been completed. Of the 38,000 km sub-minor canals, only 8,000 km have been completed. “We have a long way to go in terms of proper water management system in the state,’’ says former director of Water Resources Engineering and Management Institute, MS university, Baroda, Prof GS Parthasarthi.