Asserting that his Ministry was laying more emphasis on conserving water, Union Minister for River Development, Water Resources and Surface Transport, Nitin Gadkari said that a new project ‘Atal Bhujal’ is being implemented across the country at a cost of ₹6,000 crore.
Speaking after laying the foundation stone of Vijayapura-Solapur four-lane highway at Horti village of the district here on Tuesday, he said that of ₹6,000 crore, ₹3,000 crore would be given by the Union Government and the reamaining by World Bank. Under the project, programmes such as the construction of check-dams and bunds would be taken up across the country.
Stating that linking of rivers was one of the major projects and aims of his Ministry, he said that in the first phase, the rivers of central and south India would be linked for using a huge quantum of water that is currently getting wasted by flowing into the sea.
“Every year, more that 3,000 tmcft of water goes into ocean. By linking rivers, we could save this water. The ambitious project would help States such as Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisghar, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Telangana,” he said.
Admitting that land acquisition was turning out to be expensive for the government for implementing irrigation projects, Mr. Gadkari said that his government would lay pipelines instead of constructing canals for supplying water. Stating that the government was spending a huge amount on importing petroleum products, he said it planned to generate more ethanol in the country. A proposal was before the government to increase ethanol production by establishing around 2,000 industries in the country which would create over 30 lakh jobs.
With regard to the Vijayapura-Solapur Highway, he said that though the project was first approved in 2012, owing to the lack of an environmental clearance, it did not take off. “Finally, it has started again at a cost of ₹1,576 crore. I have asked the contractor to complete the project within two years,” he said. Mr. Gadkari claimed that the Union government, under the Bharat Mala project, plans to spend around ₹2 lakh crore for Karnataka alone for developing highways.
