Ahmedabad, Aug 13 (PTI) The Gujarat government on Wednesday said it deferred the implementation of the Par-Tapi-Narmada river linking project in 2022, and there has been no change in its stand since then.
The clarification came days after tribal leader and Congress MLA Anant Patel threatened to launch a fresh agitation, claiming that a Detailed Project Report or DPR has been prepared by the Union government which indicated that the project was under fresh consideration.
Following protests by tribals fearing displacement, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel had in May 2022 announced that the project had been scrapped.
Talking to reporters after a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Health Minister and government spokesperson Rushikesh Patel said the state government was firm on its stand.
"This project was proposed when Congress was in power at the Centre. It was then revived by then prime minister Manmohan Singh. A DPR was prepared and submitted by the concerned ministry in 2017. DPRs are never tabled in Parliament or legislative assemblies (as claimed by Congress)," Patel told reporters.
"This project was postponed in 2022 by our CM and we are firm on our stand since then. From 2022 till today, neither the state nor Centre has taken any decision to revive the project. After the last DPR, no new DPR has been prepared," he said.
Union Jal Shakti Minister C R Paatil has already clarified on August 10 that neither the state nor the Centre had any plans to go ahead with the project, Patel said, alleging that some people are doing politics "by inciting innocent tribal people."
Congress MLA Anant Patel alleged a few days ago that the Ministry of Jal Shakti, in a reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, admitted that the project's DPR has been completed and tabled in Parliament.
Rushikesh Patel, however, said the Jalshakti ministry mentioned the 2017 DPR, and there was no new DPR.
The Congress, meanwhile, is going to organise a mega-gathering of tribals at Dharampur in Valsad district on August 14 to protest against the project and seek further clarification from the government, said Valsad district Congress president Kishan Patel. State Congress president Amit Chavda will also attend the gathering, he said.
The Par-Tapi-Narmada linking project proposed to transfer water from the water surplus regions of the Western Ghats to deficit regions of Saurashtra and Kutch. It involves the construction of seven reservoirs in north Maharashtra and south Gujarat. PTI PJT PD KRK
