Narmada sub-minor canal work to be over within 3 months: Patel

Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel today said the work of laying underground pipeline network of Narmada sub-minor canals under the Sardar Sarovar Project will be completed within next three months.
"The work of laying pipeline network will be completed within three months. The state government has fixed the responsibility of contractors to maintain the quality of work. It will be the contractors' responsibility to repair any damage of defective portion of the canal for a period of five years," Patel said.
She was speaking at the inauguration of Rs 2,000 crore project of laying down underground pipeline network of sub- minor canals from Dasada in Surendranagar.

The entire project is aimed at irrigating 5 lakh hectares of agricultural land in different parts of the state. Other ministers simultaneously launched the state-wide project from 17 different talukas today, an official press release said.
Gujarat government, which has been drawing opposition's flak over the "slow" work on the Narmada Canal network, has recently announced that instead of sub-minor canal, a pipeline network would be laid.
This will enable the government to lay the network without wasting time for acquiring the land required to lay sub-minor canal networks.

Hitting back at Congress for criticising the government, Patel said the project got delayed as the opposition party tried all tricks to stall it.

She said after Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister, he immediately granted permission to raise the height of the dam as well as to install gates.
Patel added that Gujarat government has started installing gates on the Sardar Sarovar dam and the work would be completed by September 2017.
"All the pending work related to the Narmada canal network will also be completed by that time," she claimed.
The state Congress had accused Gujarat government of delay and negligence in Sardar Sarovar Project and alleged that even after spending Rs 15,000 crore, the state was yet to construct over 51,000 kms of canal network under the plan.