Watering his plans
THE WEEK India|August 14, 2022
Ashok Gehlot is trying to convert a stalled canal project into a win-win political situation
SONI MISHRA
Watering his plans

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot often writes to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, raising issues that range from Covid management and Centre-state relations to the state’s share of the Goods and Services Tax. He has especially been prolific in writing about the Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project—an ambitious scheme to supply water from the Chambal basin to 13 eastern and southeastern districts.

The 40,451-crore canal project has been stalled since 2017, when it was first proposed by the BJP government led by Vasundhara Raje. The delay in implementing the project is now a hot-button issue, thanks to Gehlot. He wants Modi, who had backed the proposal while campaigning for the 2018 assembly polls, to green-light the project immediately and grant it national status to ensure speedy implementation. With assembly polls due next year, Gehlot’s demands have sparked a war of words between the Congress and the BJP.

The project envisages a series of canals that would drain excess water from Chambal to other river basins, improving irrigation, ensuring drinking water supply, and meeting the needs of the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor that passes through Rajasthan. The problem is that the Chambal water cannot be tapped without the Centre’s help. The area around Kota barrage, for instance, is a crocodile sanctuary where no construction is permitted within a radius of 1.5km from the centre of the river.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة August 14, 2022 من THE WEEK India.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة August 14, 2022 من THE WEEK India.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من THE WEEK INDIA مشاهدة الكل
War Over Wounded Earth
THE WEEK India

War Over Wounded Earth

For the BJP andthe Congress, the ravaged farmlands of Vidarbha represent a cxitieal battleground in their larger struggle to win Maharashtra

time-read
9 mins  |
November 10, 2024
Say no to continual elections
THE WEEK India

Say no to continual elections

Following the recommendations of a high-level committee led by former president Ram Nath Kovind to streamline the widely scattered schedule of national, state and local elections, the Union cabinet has reportedly approved two constitutional amendment bills for likely introduction in Parliament. Predictably, the return of the ‘one nation, one election’ issue to news has set off a flurry of objections by several opposition leaders.

time-read
2 mins  |
November 10, 2024
Fabulously, fashionably funny
THE WEEK India

Fabulously, fashionably funny

The third season of the Karan Johar-produced Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives dropped on Netflix, but articles criticising the show appear in some news site or the other almost daily. If it is so bad, why keep writing about it? And if it is so bad, why would the superpowers at Netflix, who are harder to meet than the prime minister, commission the show season after season?

time-read
2 mins  |
November 10, 2024
All in the family
THE WEEK India

All in the family

The Chitaras have been passing down the secret art of Mata Ni Pachedi through generations for more than 400 years now

time-read
6 mins  |
November 10, 2024
Raise a toast to Vidya Balan
THE WEEK India

Raise a toast to Vidya Balan

Vidya Balan is a New Year baby. At 45, she is aglow in the most beautiful way, having won the hearts and admiration of countless fans across the world, who watched the supremely talented actor take a public tumble on stage at a high-profile promotional event recently, sharing the platform with no less a dancer than the eternally graceful Madhuri Dixit.

time-read
2 mins  |
November 10, 2024
Death no bar
THE WEEK India

Death no bar

Being alive is not a legal requirement to be elected president of the United States

time-read
2 mins  |
November 10, 2024
The Lotus POTUS
THE WEEK India

The Lotus POTUS

You should visit us one of these days— there is so much excitement in our USA! No, I don’t mean the famous USA—the Ulhasnagar Sindhi Association of Mumbai.

time-read
3 mins  |
November 10, 2024
RAY OF HOPE
THE WEEK India

RAY OF HOPE

Actor and cancer survivor Lisa Ray talks to oncologist Dr Jame Abraham about inner strength and her surrogacy journey

time-read
5 mins  |
November 10, 2024
LEVERAGE AI TO ENHANCE WORK
THE WEEK India

LEVERAGE AI TO ENHANCE WORK

AT THE WEEK Health Summit, Siddharth Bagga, head (retail, CPG and health care), Google Cloud, elaborated on the significant work that Google has been doing in health care through artificial intelligence (AI).

time-read
2 mins  |
November 10, 2024
PRESSURE POINTS
THE WEEK India

PRESSURE POINTS

Author and MP Shashi Tharoor and motivational speaker Gaur Gopal Das on how to find healing and meaning in today's world

time-read
2 mins  |
November 10, 2024