Jaipur, Feb 25 (IANS): Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma on Saturday reached out to the common people to meet them after the MoU for the Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP) was signed, saying the double-engine government of the Centre and the state was working towards fulfilling the promises made to the people.
Sharma was welcomed with flowers and garlands at various places in Alwar, Deeg and Bharatpur districts.
The crowd raised slogans in support of the Chief Minister, calling him 'Bhagiratha of Rajasthan'.
Sharma, while addressing the people, spoke about the benefits of the ERCP project to their areas.
"We had promised to give the gift of ERCP to the state and within one and a half months of forming the government, we signed this MoU for the ERCP project by talking to the Central government and Madhya Pradesh government. We have set a target to complete this project in five years by working rapidly on the ground," he said, adding that the previous government only stalled and diverted the ERCP.
The Chief Minister said that this project will bring a positive change in the lives of farmers, mother power and common people of eastern Rajasthan and will ensure availability of adequate water to villages, farms and homes.
Apart from the 26 dams included in the DPR, ERCP plans to add 122 more dams in the future.
Sharma said that from the year 2013 to 2018, "our (previous) government had started the Chief Minister Jal Swavalamban Abhiyan to encourage water conservation and storage".
"Taking this forward, we have started Chief Minister Jal Swavalamban Abhiyan 2.0 by making a provision of Rs 11,200 crore in the budget. Under this, 5 lakh water storage structures will be built in 20,000 villages in the next 4 years," he added.
He said that an MoU has been signed between the Central government, Haryana government and Rajasthan government for the flow system from Tajewala to provide Yamuna river water to Sikar, Churu and Jhunjhunu.
This will ensure fulfillment of the water requirements of these three districts.
This will irrigate about 5,000 hectares of land and about 20,000 farmers will benefit from it.
He said that through this project, water will be brought to a total of 5 dams in Bharatpur district.
This will irrigate about 14,000 hectares of land and about 56,000 farmers will benefit.