With Narmada Control Authority (NCA) gives positive response to Gujarat Government’s request to take seepage water from Narmada Dam, people in the State will face lesser problem of drinking water during summer.
In wake of inadequate rain in the Sardar Sarovar Dam catchment areas, Gujarat was starting at water crises. NCA allowed Gujarat Government to lift seepage water and dead water, said Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, adding that with availability of extra water, more than 10,000 villages and 167 towns would get drinking water till end of July.
Termed as ‘Lifeline of Gujarat’, the multi-purpose project of Sardar Sarovar Dam, provides for water needs across 12,000 villages, over 170 towns and serves 4.4 crore of six crore plus population of the state. As per the mechanism for distribution of water from the project, the four beneficiary states of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra are allotted 28 million acre feet (MAF) of water in Sardar Sarovar dam. Of this, MP has been allotted 18.25 MAF, Rajasthan 0.5 MAF, Maharashtra 0.25 MAF and Gujarat 9.34 MAF.
Of Gujarat’s 9.34 MAF, 1.06 MAF water is for non-irrigation purpose (0.86 MAF for drinking and 0.2 MAF for industry) and 7.94 MAF for agriculture. Over time, the need for drinking water has risen to 1.29 MAF. The NCA in its last meeting had fixed the quota of water for Gujarat at 4.71 MAF, forcing state government to give priority to drinking water needs.
Sources in Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Limited said that the water stored in the dam was spread across 214 km during monsoons but now it less than 100 km. The water level too has come near critical storage level of 110.64 meters, said the sources adding that the water at this level is sufficient to meet drinking needs for three years but with monsoons still four-and-a-half months away, the right use of water becomes extremely necessary.