Former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot demanded to make the PKC-ERCP project public
Jaipur: Former Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot on Saturday called for the release of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the governments of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan pertaining to the PKC-ERCP connection project. He said that people had a right to know if this project would be advantageous and that the recently signed deal was being kept a secret.
The Modified Parbati-Kalisindh-Chambal-Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (PKC-ERCP) is scheduled to have its foundation stone laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 17.
“Publication of the Memorandum of Understanding between the governments of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan under the Modified Parbati-Kalisindh-Chambal-Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (PKC-ERCP) has been sought by the opposition. The public is entitled to know whether this initiative would benefit Rajasthan. The recently inked contract is being kept under wraps. There are claims that the new plan lacks the irrigation provisions seen in the previous ERCP plan, Gehlot told the media.
The Congress politician went on to accuse the administration of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of politicizing public benefit projects. He said that the ERCP project was in a similar state as the Barmer Refinery project, which delay resulted in a cost rise of several thousand crore rupees.
For the first time in my political career, I am seeing the secrecy of a two-government deal…The general population is unaware of it.When the refinery project was moved from the UP government to Rajasthan in 2013, it was launched. However, following a change in administration, the BJP halted construction and attempted to restart it, which resulted in a cost rise of several thousand crores (rupees). The Barmer Refinery Scheme is starting to resemble the Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP) in terms of condition. Public welfare activities shouldn’t include politics, but Gehlot argued the BJP does.
The BJP launched the ERCP project in 2017–18 with the goal of supplying 13 districts in eastern Rajasthan with drinking and agricultural water.
