During question hour, senior Congress MLA Punja Vansh raised questions related to the pending work of the Narmada canal network. Besides Vansh, some other Congress MLAs sought details about the expenses incurred for the project so far by the government.
On behalf of Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel who handles the Narmada department, Education Minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama replied that Rs 47,202 crore has been spent on the entire Narmada project, including the dam, till date.
The minister also admitted that canals of 48,266 km in length are yet to be constructed, including 214.3 km of branch canals, 1590.7 km of distributaries, 8656.7 km of minor canals and 27,804.7 km of sub-minor canals. He added that work is going on in full swing and the government is determined to complete the work "as soon as possible".
The minister stated that as on January 2015, Gujarat government is yet to recover Rs 3,547.90 crore from Madhya Pradesh, Rs 1,372.57 crore from Maharashtra and Rs 505.77 crore from Rajasthan.