(a) whether it is a fact that high power steering committee of her Ministry has recommended to declare the Bargi Diversion Project of Madhya Pradesh as National Project;
(b) if so, the details and the current status thereof;
(c) the reasons for keeping the said project pending for approval since last seven years; and
(d) the time by which it is likely to be declared as a National Project?
THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT AND GANGA REJUVENATION
(DR. SANJEEV KUMAR BALYAN)
(a) to (d) Earlier, the proposal for inclusion of Bargi Diversion Project under the scheme of National Project was recommended by the High Power Steering Committee. Some observations were made by Ministry of Finance and the then Planning Commission on the proposal of inclusion of Bargi Diversion Project under the scheme of National Projects. Further, a joint team of Central Water Commission and State Government officials, was constituted by Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation to assess the status and eligibility of Bargi Project for inclusion under the scheme of National Projects.
The team has reported that the Irrigation potential of the scheme is less than 2 lakh ha. and do not fulfill the criteria for inclusion in the National Projects Scheme.
*****