Jaipur, July 1 (IANS) A nearly two-decade-old dispute over water distribution from Rajasthan’s Panchna Dam in Karauli district has been resolved through dialogue, paving the way for restoration of irrigation in the region and bringing relief to thousands of farmers.

The agreement, reached late Tuesday night, marks a significant step toward restoring irrigation in one of eastern Rajasthan’s important agricultural regions.

Representatives of both sides signed a written agreement after extensive discussions held at the Education Complex in Jaipur in the presence of Rural Development Minister Dr Kirodi Lal Meena, Water Resources Minister Suresh Singh Rawat, and Minister of State for Home Affairs Jawahar Singh Bedham.

The consensus was achieved in what officials described as a cordial atmosphere, with all stakeholders agreeing to place public interest above individual differences.

Following the agreement, Water Resources Minister Suresh Singh Rawat announced that the department would finalise a date for releasing water from the Panchna Dam within the next seven days. Initially, water will be released on a trial basis after technical inspections of the canal network to assess its readiness.

The Minister also assured that the government would move ahead with the lift irrigation project and undertake measures to strengthen irrigation infrastructure across the command area.

According to him, the government has accommodated the legitimate concerns of both sides while ensuring that the broader public interest remains the priority.

Minister of State for Home Affairs Jawahar Singh Bedham appealed to all stakeholders to cooperate in ensuring the early release of water into the canals, while Rural Development Minister Dr Kirodi Lal Meena described the agreement as the end of a two-decade-old impasse and thanked farmers for maintaining dialogue and mutual trust throughout the process.

Senior officials from the Water Resources Department, Rural Development Department, Rajasthan Police, and the district administrations of Karauli and Sawai Madhopur participated in the discussions, presenting technical updates and outlining the roadmap for implementing the agreement.

Representatives of the Gudla Sangharsh Samiti, Gramotthan Sanstha, and Gambhir Nadi Jal Bachao Samiti welcomed the settlement, describing it as a long-awaited solution to a dispute that had affected livelihoods across the region.

The resolution of the Panchna Dam dispute is more than an administrative achievement. It revives the prospect of reliable irrigation for thousands of hectares of farmland, promises improved water security for villages that had long demanded equitable access, and demonstrates how sustained dialogue can resolve even deeply entrenched disputes, said officials.

The Panchna Dam, with a storage capacity of 2,100 MCFT, has the potential to irrigate nearly 10,000 hectares of farmland. Yet, despite this capacity, water has not flowed through the command area canals since 2006 due to disagreements over its distribution.

At the centre of the dispute were 21 revenue villages, including Gudla, whose residents consistently demanded that drinking and irrigation water first be supplied to their villages through a lift irrigation scheme before canal water was released downstream.

The deadlock persisted year after year, affecting agricultural productivity and delaying the full utilisation of one of the region’s major irrigation assets. A turning point came with Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma’s budget announcement, which promised a lift irrigation scheme for the 21 revenue villages. The assurance helped rebuild confidence among stakeholders and created the conditions for meaningful negotiations.

The state government also sanctioned Rs 11.50 crore for repairing the canal network, work that is now nearing completion. The restoration of the canal system has strengthened expectations that irrigation could resume after a gap of nearly two decades.

For farmers who have watched canal beds remain dry for nearly 20 years, the true measure of success will be seen when water once again starts flowing through the restored canal network. If implemented as planned, the agreement could transform the agricultural landscape of the Panchna command area and stand as a model for resolving water-sharing disputes through consensus rather than confrontation.

–IANS

arc/skp