Parbati-Kalisindh-Chambal river linking project

A recent meeting between Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh Chief Ministers addressed the implementation of the Parbati-Kalisindh-Chambal river linking project, which aims to resolve a long-standing dispute between Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

What is the PKC link project?

• The Parbati-Kalisindh-Chambal (PKC) link project is one of the 30 links included in the National Perspectives Plan formulated by the erstwhile Union Ministry of Irrigation (now Ministry of Water Resources) and the Central Water Commission in the year 1980.
• As per the National Water Development Agency (NWDA), the preliminary feasibility report of the Kalisindh-Chambal link canal project was prepared and circulated to the states concerned in September 1991.
  • The report proposed diversion of water from river Newaj (a tributary of Kalisindh) and Kalisindh to the river Chambal at either the Rana Pratap Sagar dam or the Gandhi Sagar dam.
• Rajasthan came up with the proposal of the ERCP in 2019, and to utilise water resources optimally, the Task Force for Interlinking of Rivers (TFILR) discussed its merger with the PKC link project.
• This integration was approved by the Special Committee for Interlinking of Rivers in December 2022.
• Modified PKC-ERCP: The Modified Parbati-Kalisindh-Chambal-ERCP (Modified PKC-ERCP) Link Project is an inter-state river linking project.
• Preparations for a Detailed Project Report (DPR) on this are on.
• Based on the outcome of the DPR, a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) will be finalised among Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and the Centre, covering the sharing of water, exchange of water, sharing of costs and benefits, implementation mechanisms, arrangements for management and control of water in the Chambal basin, etc.

Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP)

• ERCP is aimed at intra-basin transfer of water within the Chambal basin, by utilising surplus monsoon water available in Kalisindh, Parvati, Mej and Chakan subbasins and diverting it into water deficit sub-basins of Banas, Gambhiri, Banganga and Parbati.
• This will provide drinking and industrial water to 13 districts of eastern Rajasthan, namely Alwar, Bharatpur, Dholpur, Karauli, Sawai-Madhopur, Dausa, Jaipur, Ajmer, Tonk, Bundi, Kota, Baran, and Jhalawar.