Rajasthan

• 01 Feb 2024

Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project

Why in News?

Recently, the Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh governments inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP).

Key Points

• MoU will pave the way for the availability of drinking water and irrigation in 13 districts of Rajasthan and will also play a huge role in changing the economic conditions of the region.
• The Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP), an ambitious drinking and irrigation water project, was announced by the state government in the state budget 2017-18 as a permanent solution to the problem of drinking and irrigation water in 13 districts of eastern Rajasthan.
  • The districts included Jhalawar, Baran, Kota Bundi, Sawai Madhopur, Ajmer, Tok, Jaipur, Dausa, Karauli, Alwar, Bharatpur and Dholpur.
• ERCP aims to harvest surplus water available during rainy season in rivers in Southern Rajasthan such as Chambal and its tributaries, including Kunnu, Parvati, Kalisindh, and use this water in south-eastern districts of the state, where there is scarcity of water for drinking and irrigation.
  • ERCP is planned to meet drinking and industrial water needs of the southern and south eastern Rajasthan, for humans and Livestock till the year 2051.

Chambal River

• About: It originates at the Singar Chouri peak in the northern slopes of the Vindhya mountains (Indore, Madhya Pradesh). From there, it flows in the North direction in Madhya Pradesh for a length of about 346 km and then follows a north-easterly direction for a length of 225 km through Rajasthan.
  • It enters UP and flows for about 32 km before joining the Yamuna River in Etawah District.
  • It is a rainfed river and its basin is bounded by the Vindhyan mountain ranges and the Aravallis. The Chambal and its tributaries drain the Malwa region of northwestern Madhya Pradesh.
  • The Hadauti plateau in Rajasthan occurs in the upper catchment of the Chambal River to the southeast of the Mewar Plains.
• Tributaries: Banas, Kali Sindh, Sipra, Parbati, etc.
• Main Power Projects/ Dam: Gandhi Sagar Dam, Rana Pratap Sagar Dam, Jawahar Sagar Dam, and Kota Barrage.
• The National Chambal Sanctuary is located along river Chambal on the tri-junction of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. It is known for critically endangered gharial, the red-crowned roof turtle, and the endangered Ganges river dolphin.