Gujarat has proposed receiving additional water from the Narmada project in exchange for supplying electricity to the three other partner states, as parts of Saurashtra and Kutch face scarcity, according to a state government source. The proposal was placed at a Review Committee of the Narmada Control Authority meeting in Delhi on Tuesday, where the participating states agreed to it in principle.
The meeting was chaired by Union Jal Shakti Minister C R Paatil and attended by Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and the chief ministers of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan. A highly placed Gujarat government source said the four states would now work out the quantity of additional water to be allocated to Gujarat and the amount of electricity to be provided in return.
Under the existing agreement, Gujarat is allocated 9 million acre-feet of Narmada water. The state uses the river’s water for irrigation, drinking-water supply and regional development, making the proposed arrangement significant for areas where availability is currently under pressure. The source did not specify how much additional water Gujarat is seeking or the volume and terms of the proposed electricity compensation.
The proposal comes as the Narmada Control Authority’s review committee also approved a memorandum of agreement reached among the participating states at its previous meeting in July 2026. The approval addresses long-standing issues connected with the Narmada project and marks a further step towards resolving inter-state matters through coordination among the Centre and the four beneficiary states.
The meeting adopted a conciliatory approach to other outstanding issues, with the participating governments agreeing to pursue dialogue and mutual cooperation. The Gujarat government described the process as important for ensuring the effective use of the river’s water resources and improving coordination among the states involved in the project.
Gujarat’s Chief Secretary M K Das joined the meeting through video conferencing. Additional Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Vikrant Pandey and other senior officials also participated alongside Patel. The next stage will involve determining the additional water allocation and the electricity contribution under the proposed arrangement.
