Gujarat govt stands by its decision to suspend Par-Tapi-Narmada project: Minister
Responding to a query at a press briefing, senior minister and spokesperson of the state government Rushikesh Patel said that the government stands by its 2022 decision of suspending the project.
Patel alleged that the Opposition Congress was trying to mislead the people of Gujarat by doing politics over the issue.
Asked if the government has suspended the project or cancelled it, Patel said, 'Two states are involved in the project and consent of both the states is necessary. However, we have already made our decision – the Gujarat government does not want to go ahead with the project. We have clearly informed the Central government that we (Gujarat government) do not want to move ahead with the Par-Tapi-Narmada project.'
The project was suspended ahead of the 2022 Assembly elections after widespread protests against the project, mainly by tribals from south Gujarat.
Later, quoting Patel, an official statement said, 'In 1980, the then government had tried to bring the Par-Tapi-Narmada project for the first time. After that, in 2011, the then union government of Prime Minister late Manmohan Singh had presented it. In 2017, the detailed project report (DPR) was prepared by the concerned ministry.'
'The announcement to suspend the project was made by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Navsari MP C R Paatil in 2022. Since then, till today, no movement has been done related to the project either by the Gujarat government or the central government,' the statement said.
The statement referred to a question raised in the Rajya Sabha related to the project and said that the reply made a reference to the DPR related to the project.
'The DPR mentioned in the Rajya Sabha is that of 2017 and after 2017, no new DPR has been made public,' the statement said.
'Union Minister for Jal Shakti C R Paatil has also made it clear on August 10 that neither the central government nor the state government has any intention of taking this project forward. The Gujarat government too decided not to take this project forward in a cabinet meeting. The government stands by its decision of suspending the project in 2022.'
The project proposed to transfer river water from the surplus regions of the Western Ghats to the deficit regions of Saurashtra and Kutch. It proposes to link three rivers — Par, originating from Nashik in Maharashtra and flowing through Valsad, Tapi from Saputara that flows through Maharashtra and Surat in Gujarat, and Narmada originating in Madhya Pradesh and flowing through Maharashtra and Bharuch and Narmada districts in Gujarat.
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