Gadkari told DNA that the Centre has arrived at a solution that will protect the interests of both states, which is agreeable to them in in-principle.
The Centre has managed to resolve the dispute between Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Madhya Pradesh (MP) on sharing waters from the Ken-Betwa river-linking project.
The two states have agreed in principle to stick to the proposed water sharing formula as mentioned in the 2005 tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the Centre and the two state governments, top officials at the Centre and of both state governments confirmed.
An official of the MP government also added that the Centre was positive to their demands to include three smaller water management projects - Kotha barrage, Lower Orr and Bina Industrial Complex – in Phase-I. The official though did not confirm whether this has been finalised as the final agreement is under process.
The impasse ended after Union Minister for Water Resources Nitin Gadkari held high-level talks with MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Gadkari told DNA that the Centre has arrived at a solution that will protect the interests of both states, which is agreeable to them in in-principle.
"We have accepted some demands of Madhya Pradesh (government) and found a solution that is amenable to both states. This has been worked out to meet their expectations and protect their interests and I can say that both are satisfied. I cannot go into more details as the final agreement is still being worked out," Nitin Gadkari told DNA.
The dispute arose a few months back when MP government wrote to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) seeking an increase in the share of their water from the river linking project that proposes transfer of water from Ken River basin into Betwa River basin for irrigation and drinking water purposes.
The MP government also sought inclusion of Phase-II projects; Kotha barrage, Lower Orr and Bina Industrial Complex in Phase-I. The inclusion of these three components in the Phase-I would mandate fresh appraisals before the environment ministry, which would delay the project. The PMO directed both states to resolve the issue at the earliest after UP opposed reduction in its water share.
Meanwhile, officials from the Uttar Pradesh government said their primary concern was maintaining their share of water, as per the 2005 agreement. They added that inclusion of other components in MP would not be an issue as long as Uttar Pradesh's share was not reduced.
In view of the grant of environmental and Stage-I forest clearance for the project and resolution of deadlock between the two states, the project will now have to go for Cabinet clearance after the final agreement is worked out.
The 2005 MoU on the Ken Betwa river linking project was signed by former MP Chief Minister Babulal Gaur, former UP Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav and Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi, then Union Minister for Water Resources.
The proposed water sharing, as per the agreement, says that the gross water availability at the proposed Daudhan dam would be 6188 million cubic metres (MCM). Of this, MP requires 2266 MCM upstream. With regeneration taken into account, the net water availability would be 4364. Of this, 1687 MCM would be distributed to MP and 1700 MCM would go to UP.
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