Rajasthan News: The Narmada water dispute, which had persisted for nearly 47 years, has finally been resolved. Representatives from the four concerned states signed a one-time settlement agreement in Delhi in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Patil. Under this agreement, Rajasthan will pay approximately ₹550 crore to Gujarat as its share of the project costs. This pact paves the way for resolving long-pending financial disputes related to the Sardar Sarovar Project.
The agreement was signed in Delhi by the four states in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Patil, marking the end of a long-standing payment-related dispute. However, the primary question on people’s minds regarding this agreement is whether Rajasthan will now receive a larger share of Narmada water. The answer is no; the agreement entails no changes to the water allocation. Rajasthan’s share remains at 0.50 MAF (Million Acre-Feet), just as it was before.
The government states that the major benefit of this agreement is that stalled works related to the project can now proceed rapidly. This will facilitate canal development and strengthen the water supply infrastructure in Western Rajasthan. Districts such as Jalore, Sanchore, Barmer, and Sirohi are expected to derive direct benefits from this. In these regions, Narmada water is utilized for both drinking and irrigation purposes; the project meets the water requirements of thousands of villages and supports the farming activities of a large number of agriculturists.
The Narmada River originates at Amarkantak in Madhya Pradesh and flows through Maharashtra and Gujarat before emptying into the Arabian Sea. Long-standing disagreements had existed among the states regarding costs, rehabilitation, and expenditures associated with the construction of major projects on the river, including the Sardar Sarovar Dam. To resolve this dispute, the Central Government had constituted the Narmada Water Disputes Tribunal in 1969. The water-sharing arrangement was finalized in 1979 following nearly a decade of hearings. Under that decision, Rajasthan was allocated 0.50 MAF of water, while the shares for Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Maharashtra were also determined.
Despite the resolution of the water-sharing issue, the dispute regarding the cost of the Sardar Sarovar Project persisted. Gujarat maintained that it had incurred higher expenditure on the project and argued that the other states should pay their respective shares; meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra also put forward their own claims. The matter of Rajasthan’s cost-sharing contribution remained pending for several years as well. To resolve these outstanding claims, all four states have now agreed to a one-time settlement. Under this arrangement, Rajasthan will pay approximately ₹550 crore to Gujarat, and the financial claims of the other states will also be finally settled.
The state government believes that with the removal of financial and administrative hurdles, efforts to strengthen the canal network and ensure water delivery to the tail-end areas will accelerate. Farmers in Western Rajasthan have long complained that adequate water often fails to reach the farthest sections of the canals. The government claims that significant improvements in this regard can now be expected. It has also indicated that work will be undertaken to better utilize surplus water received during the monsoon season in the future; a Detailed Project Report (DPR) is currently being prepared for this purpose. If this surplus water is stored using scientific methods, water-scarce regions in Western Rajasthan could receive substantial relief in the coming years.
