Jaipur, Jul 8 (PTI) Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday urged the Centre to declare the ambitious East Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP) a national project.

In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Gehlot said the project costing about Rs 37,247 crore will ensure the availability of drinking water in 13 districts of the state while meeting irrigation needs of 2.8 lakh hectares.

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He said the detailed project report (DPR) of the project had been sent to the Central Water Commission for necessary approval in November 2017.

He urged that the project be declared a national project at the earliest.

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The Chief Minister said that the Centre has given the status of a national project to 16 multipurpose irrigation projects in the past.

But no multipurpose irrigation project in Rajasthan has received this status, he said.

“Due to a serious problem of drinking water in many districts of the state, it is necessary to give this project the status of a national project and ensure its quick implementation,” he said.

The ERCP project will ensure the availability of adequate water for drinking and irrigation by 2051 to Jhalawar, Baran, Kota, Bundi, Sawai Madhopur, Ajmer, Tonk, Jaipur, Dausa, Karauli, Alwar, Bharatpur and Dholpur districts.

According to the detailed project report of the ERCP, the project is to carry the surplus water of sub-basins of Kunu, Kul, Parvati, Kalisindh and Mej rivers during monsoon to the sub-basins of Banas, Morel, Banganga, Gambhir and Parbati rivers.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)