Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi has urged the Prime Minister to allow early completion of the gates atop the Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP) dam and grant Central funds to bear 90 per cent of the total cost of the Narmada Command Desert Development Programme under Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP).
Laying the foundation stones of five projects for Kutch district at Rapar on Saturday, Modi said that Kutch region would become a model of green agricultural revolution. The migration of people from Kutch to Mumbai and elsewhere might stop, too, he added.
He informed about the plan to recharge the seasonal rivulets in the district with the Narmada water.
The chief minister further informed that SSP was started in 1961 but took 50 years to reach the Kutch shores embroiled as it was in political and other controversies.
On Saturday, Modi laid the stones for total five projects for the 360-km long Narmada branch canal network for the Kutch district. The project involving a total investment of Rs 4,600 crore, including two branch canals of 82-km each in Rapar taluka worth Rs 1,265 crore and three 20-storeyed pumping stations for lifting water to a higher elevation.
