Gujarat has still not been able to calculate the state’s water requirement projections for Narmada water sharing.
The Narmada Water Disputes Tribunal (NWDT) is expected to conduct a revision of the requirement of Narmada water by Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan by the end of the year.
After considerable delay, the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Limited (SSNNL) has started the exercise of arriving at the water usage projection for the state for the next 30 to 50 years.
It has written to state government departments, seeking their projections of Narmada water usage in the future.
While the agriculture department is the biggest user, since the bulk of Narmada water made available to Gujarat is used for irrigation, other departments like industries, urban development, water resources and water supply and the like have been asked for their Narmada water usage projections.
Various states which share water and power under the Sardar Sarovar Project are required to provide details to the Union government and to NWDT regarding their existing usage and projections for the next 30 to 50 years.
“Although there is very little time left, no department of state government has begun the exercise to calculate Narmada water requirement in the long run. The requirement and allocation for various states is expected to be reviewed in December this year,” sources in the administration said.
NWDT is expected to conduct an exercise to review the allocation of Narmada water to stakeholder states by the end of this year. With the last NWDT award dating back to 1979, Gujarat will require a much higher quantity of water as the Narmada canal network has increased substantially and much more water is now being used for irrigation.
Under the existing water sharing agreement, Gujarat receives 9 MAF (million-acre feet) of water, Madhya Pradesh gets 18.25 MAF, and Maharashtra and Rajasthan 0.25 MAF each.
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