Geography
Context: The Union government has proposed a mega project to merge two projects – Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP) and the Parbati-Kalisindh-Chambal River Link.
About Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP):
- It is a project aimed at harvesting surplus water available during the rainy season in southern Rajasthan and using it in the water-scarce south-eastern districts of the state.
- Districts covered: Jhalawar, Baran, Kota, Bundi, Sawai Madhopur, Ajmer, Tonk, Jaipur, Karauli, Alwar, Bharatpur, Dausa, and Dholpur.
- Rajasthan’s geographical area of 342.52 lakh hectares equals 10.4 per cent of the entire country but holds only 1.16 per cent of India’s surface water and 1.72 per cent of groundwater.
- Among the state’s water bodies, only the Chambal River basin has surplus water, but this water cannot be tapped directly because the area around the Kota barrage is designated as a crocodile sanctuary.
- The project will have components including diversion structures, intra-basin water transfers, linking channels, and building pumping main feeder channels to create a network of water channels.
- Although the project was approved by the Central Water Commission in 2017 it had been put in limbo by the Jal Shakti Ministry of the central government till the “inter-state issues” are resolved between Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.
Source: Indian Express
Previous Year Questions
Q.1) Gandikota canyon of South India was created by which one of the following rivers? (2022)
- Cauvery
- Manjira
- Pennar
- Tungabhadra
Q.2) Consider the following pairs:
Reservoirs : States
- Ghataprabha : Telangana
- Gandhi Sagar : Madhya Pradesh
- Indira Sagar : Andhra Pradesh
- Maithon : Chhattisgarh
How many pairs given above are not correctly matched?
- Only one pair
- Only two pairs
- Only three pairs
- All four pairs
