Congress and BJP butt heads over Narmada canal construction

  • | Saturday | 13th July, 2019

The Congress and BJP quibbled yet again in the assembly, this time, over unfinished work on the Narmada canal. Congress MLA Brijesh Merja from Morbi said that despite tall claims of the government that Narmada water would be released, Morbi taluka was yet to see any results. Parmar also questioned as to why despite poor quality of construction no action was taken against any of the concerned agencies. Deputy chief minister Nitin Patel asked Congress MLAs to not spread lies after Lathi MLA Virji Thummar alleged that work on the Narmada canal had been pending for over 25 years. Thummar also alleged that the BJP was taking credit for work done by the Congress.

The Congress and BJP quibbled yet again in the assembly, this time, over unfinished work on the Narmada canal. The arguments arose after the government, in a reply to a question, said that as of May 31, 2019, 10,793km of various sections of the canal (main, branch and sub-branch) had been constructed against the required 71,287 km. The state also said that, so far, it had spent Rs 70,167 crore on the project. As for the delay in construction, the state cited land acquisition issues, the fact that many of the canals were to pass through forest land and several other utility pipelines and required the permission of concerned departments. Congress MLA Brijesh Merja from Morbi said that despite tall claims of the government that Narmada water would be released, Morbi taluka was yet to see any results. In reply to Congress MLA Shailesh Parmar's statement that there were 207 instances of canals developing cracks in the last two years, the state admitted that several of the constructed canals had developed cracks owing to overflow of water, due to old and new canals being joined improperly and other maintenance issues. Parmar also questioned as to why despite poor quality of construction no action was taken against any of the concerned agencies. Deputy chief minister Nitin Patel asked Congress MLAs to not spread lies after Lathi MLA Virji Thummar alleged that work on the Narmada canal had been pending for over 25 years. Patel also defended the expenses on the project, stating that unnecessary delay by the earlier government had led to the project cost ballooning. "I had been hearing of the Sardar Sarovar dam from the time I was a kid. But it took the BJP government to actually finish the project," said Patel. He also mentioned that it was the BJP which got the height of the dam increased. Thummar also alleged that the BJP was taking credit for work done by the Congress. SET OFF The arguments arose after the government, in a reply to a question, said that as of May 31, 2019, 10,793km of various sections of the canal had been constructed against the required 71,287 km

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