🌿 Environment & Infrastructure

🏗️ PKC-ERCP Project: Rajasthan’s Canal Dream vs. Ranthambhore’s Wild Heart

The Parbati-Kalisindh-Chambal–Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (PKC-ERCP) is poised to transform irrigation and water availability in 23 districts of Rajasthan.
But this developmental leap comes with ecological trade-offs — particularly its impact on the Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve, home to 57 wild tigers and countless other species.

🧭 Project Overview

• Goal: To transfer surplus water from the Chambal river basin
• Purpose: Support irrigation, drinking water, and industrial use for ~3.45 crore people
• Land Submergence: ~408.86 sq km of land
  • Includes 37 sq km of Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve

🏞️ Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve at Risk

• Declared: Tiger reserve in 1974
• Tiger Population: 57 tigers (2024 estimate)
• Core Issue:
  • Doongri dam’s reservoir would cut the north-south wildlife corridor
  • Threatens habitat continuity, prey movement, and tiger dispersal routes

🐅 The pulse of a forest lies in its pathways — break them, and you fragment its life.

🏗️ Project Details – Phase One

• Doongri Dam:
  • Across the Banas river near Sawai Madhopur
  • 39 m high and 1.6 km long
• Five barrages included in initial phase
• Completion Target: 2028
• DPR Submission: Awaiting Central Water Commission review

⚠️ Environmental Concerns

• 🌳 Submergence of high-value forests
• 🐾 Disruption of wildlife corridors
• 📉 Decline in ecological carrying capacity

Expert Recommendations:

• Avoid core and critical habitats
• Re-design dam locations to reduce forest loss
• Provide compensatory habitat if displacement is unavoidable
• Use wildlife impact assessments in early-stage planning

🌱 You can compensate for water. Not for wilderness.

🏛️ Government Assurances

• Director General, NWDA:
  • All proposals will go through multiple agency reviews
  • Mitigation measures will be introduced
  • Precedents (like Ken-Betwa project) to be followed for compensatory strategies

🔁 Project Evolution

• 2017: Original ERCP conceived
• Post-2019: Expanded into PKC-ERCP
• Tripartite MoU signed by Centre, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh
• New focus: Integrated water-sharing infrastructure

🌍 Balancing Conservation and Development

• Affects 23 districts
• Key challenge: Deliver water security without compromising biodiversity
• Sustainable design, rigorous EIAs, and community involvement are vital

🕯️ When canals carve through forests, the question isn’t just “how much water flows?” — but also, “what wild song is lost?”