River-linking project may hit key tiger reserve area: Official

Rajasthan's ambitious river-interlinking project, aimed at providing a lifeline to 21 districts, can submerge 24 square kilometers of land in the renowned Ranthambore Tiger Reserve and 13 sqkm of adjoining revenue land.

- Sachin Saini

JAIPUR:

The submergence will result from a dam proposed under the Parbati-Kalisindh-Chambal-Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (PKC-ERCP), which is a key part of the state's interlinking of rivers initiative. The project's goal is to channel surplus water from the Chambal river basin to address the growing needs of irrigation, drinking water, and industrial use in Rajasthan's water-scarce regions.

ERCP is an ambitious project of over ₹40,000 crore, which will help augment irrigation facilities in an area of more than 2 lakh hectares in 21 districts of Rajasthan such as Jhalawar, Baran, Kota, Bundi, Sawai Madhopur, Karauli, Dhaulpur, Bharatpur, Dause, Alwar, Jaipur and Ajmer in eastern Rajasthan.

The project will provide irrigation water to about 250,000 farmer families and drinking water to about 40% of the state's population. Besides, the groundwater level will also increase.