MP govt officials boycott meeting of panel on Narmada water

Representatives of the Madhya Pradesh government Thursday boycotted a meeting of the Narmada Control Authority (NCA) committee, alleging that the interests of the state were ignored in the inter-state distribution of the river water.

The government representatives said the state's interests related to drinking water, irrigation and hydro power generation were affected as Gujarat allegedly used the Narmada water more than its fixed quota during 2017-18.

The 61st meeting of the NCA's Sardar Sarovar Reservoir Regulation Committee (SSRRC) was organised on Thursday in which MP's Narmada Valley Development Authority (NVDA) member (engineering) and four other officials of the state government took part, a government official said requesting anonymity.

The representatives of the governments of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan are also the members of the committee.

According to the official, the MP government representatives boycotted the meeting during the discussion.

"They argued that the legitimate interests of Madhya Pradesh were ignored in the proceedings (minutes) of the committee's previous meetings, prepared by the NCA, whereas the state's representatives had time and again raised the issue of right sharing of Narmada water during these meets," the official said.

The state's interests related to drinking water, irrigation and hydro power generation were affected as Gujarat allegedly used the Narmada water more than its fixed quota during 2017-18, were some of the contentious issues, the official said.

Meanwhile, a top NCA official said the written representation of the Madhya Pradesh government regarding the minutes of the last two meetings of the SSRRC has yet not reached the authority.

The 59th and 60th meetings of the committee were held on May 3 and May 27 respectively.

"Corrections in the details of the proceedings can be made if the Madhya Pradesh government sends us a written opinion about the minutes of the last two meetings of the SSRRC within the next 10 days," the NCA official said.