How 'Madhya' Pradesh Emerged As The 'Centre' Of Cooperative Federalism

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is often accused of focussing only on the development of Gujarat. The allegations are driven by claims that a disproportionate number of major investments and infrastructure projects have allegedly gone to the state.

However, the BJP's push for key strategic projects—which were stalled for decades—in the states under its rule is rarely discussed.

In the last one year, BJP-led states have signed several Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) among themselves for projects ranging from water sharing and power sharing to trade and tourism.

The most recent example is an MoU between Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh (MP) for the 'Tapi Basin Mega Recharge Project', the world’s largest groundwater recharge project.

Apart from the scale of this project, what makes this MoU an achievement is that the Interstate Coordination Board of the two states met after 25 years to finalise the MoU and resolve the long-standing issues.

How this could be achieved

A member of the legislative assembly (MLA) of MP, Archana Chitnis, who has been associated with the project since its conception in 1990s told Swarajya, "The MoU didn't happen suddenly after 25 years. The efforts for this were continuous."

The project was initially recommended in the 1995 Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) report based on a study that started in 1991. This report highlighted the falling groundwater levels in certain regions of India.

Explaining why it took so long to come to a conclusion, she said, "It's a new kind of project which does not include the concept of surplus water (used in river interlinking projects), but groundwater. Such mega recharge project does not have any precedent and hence, its acceptance took time."

The project aims to benefit two districts of MP, Burhanpur and Khandwa and four districts of Maharashtra Akola, Buldhana, Amravati and Jalgaon by raising the groundwater level in the dry regions of Nimar and Vidarbha, respectively.

Notably, Chitnis is a three-time MLA from Burhanpur and describing the demand for the project, she said, "It was a kind of people's movement. I was following the project constantly for over two decades, even when Manmohan Singh was the Prime Minister (PM) and Pratibha Patil was the President."

However, the project got pace after Narendra Modi became the PM in 2014. "A task force was formed in 2015 which included technocrats and hydrologists from IIT Kanpur, IIT Khargapur and IIT Delhi and the engineers of MP and Maharashtra," the MLA added.

"The effectiveness and usefulness of the expected groundwater recharge was under question and hence, proving its feasibility took time. Ultimately, its feasibility was established by the task force in 2016," Chitnis continued.

After this, Water and Power Consultancy Services (WAPCOS) was given the task of preparing the Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the project. Then Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman approved the aerial survey of the project. Even during the Covid period, the project continued to be discussed in virtual meetings.

"The DPR was prepared with the help of LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) survey and submitted to both the states and the Jal Shakti Ministry about two years ago. Then I brought up the issue before Chief Minister (CM) Dr Mohan Yadav," the MLA said.

She asserts that the MoU signing could be made possible only because of the keenness of the two CMs for the project. Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis, who represents Nagpur South West assembly constituency, which falls under Vidarbha region was naturally interested in the project.

"Fadnavis played a very proactive role. He was also present in the 2016 presentation of the task force as Maharashtra CM. Similarly, without Dr Yadav's approval, this project could not move ahead. Both CMs showed very positive approach," Chitnis stated.

What Tapi water recharge project means

Firstly, it is necessary to understand that why such a mega groundwater recharge project could not be undertaken anywhere else in the world.

Such projects can be undertaken only when the recharge capacity of the concerned soil is very high.

In the Tapi River Valley near the MP-Maharashtra border, a 'Bajada Zone' has formed along the Tapi River. This zone possesses exceptional water recharge capacity because it is formed by the coalescing (merging) of several alluvial fans along the base of a hill range.

"The project is dependent on the fault area. There is a natural fault line 200 kilometre (km) long, which is called Bajada zone. Along the fault line, two canals on its both sides will be constructed. This fault line makes the recharge of this level possible. We are using the natural fault line," Chitnis explained.

To leverage this nature's gift, a 221-km-long canal will be constructed from the right bank of the Khariya Gutighat Weir, of which 110 km will be in MP. The left bank canal will be constructed in two phases.

Phase 1 includes a 135.64-km-long canal from the left bank of the weir, of which 100.42 km will lie in MP. Phase 2 will begin from 90.89 km length of Phase I and will flow through a 14 km tunnel and stretch to 123.97 km in total.

To supply water into these canals, a weir at Khariya Gutighat Dam site will be constructed with a water storage capacity of 8.31 TMC (thousand million cube feet). The scale of the project can be understood from the fact that 1 TMC is equal to approximately 2,832 crore litres.

The total water usage in the recharge project will be 31.13 TMC, with 11.76 TMC allocated to MP and 19.36 TMC to Maharashtra. As a result, the project will facilitate irrigation over approximately 1.23 lakh hectares in MP and 2.37 lakh hectares in Maharashtra.

To further expedite work, the next interstate board meeting will be held in Maharashtra in October. Moreover, both the states have submitted a proposal to the centre requesting 90 per cent of the funding from the Union government.

Not a standalone project

What is noteworthy is that the Tapi water recharge project is not the only project that the MP government is undertaking to enhance water availability in certain regions.

In the last few months, two more such inter-state water projects were kickstarted by the Mohan Yadav government in collaboration with the neighbouring BJP governments.

Both the projects were part of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee's vision of river interlinking but faced delays for decades due to poor consensus among the neighbouring states.

Only after stable BJP governments were formed simultaneously in the neighbouring states, a consensus on river interlinking of Ken-Betwa and Parbati-Kalisindh-Chambal (PKC) could be reached.

"MP has become the first state in the country to initiate two projects under the grand campaign of river linking," said PM Modi during the foundation laying of Ken-Betwa river linking project on 25 December 2024.

A tripartite agreement for this was signed with the Uttar Pradesh (UP) government and the Jal Shakti Minister in March 2021 and the Union Cabinet approved Rs 44,605 crore for the project in December 2021.

This project would provide irrigation facilities to 10 districts including Chhatarpur, Tikamgarh, Niwari, Panna, Damoh, and Sagar of MP and Banda, Mahoba, Lalitpur, and Jhansi of UP. It will provide an annual irrigation of 10.62 lakh hectares and drinking water supply to a population of about 62 lakhs.

A week before the foundation laying of the Ken-Betwa project, the MP government signed another tripartite agreement with Rajasthan and Centre for the modified PKC project, which links it to East Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP).

In MP, the project will benefit 2,012 villages across 11 districts. Just over 6 lakh hectares of additional land will come under irrigation coverage, while drinking water will be ensured for 40 lakh people.

In Rajasthan, the project is estimated to benefit 3.25 crore people living in 21 districts of Jhalawar, Baran, Kota, Boondi, Tonk, Sawai Madhopur, Gangapur City, Dausa, Karauli, Dholpur, Bharatpur, Deeg, Alwar, Khairtal-Tijara, Kotputli-Behror, Jaipur city, Jaipur Rural, Dud, Ajmer, Byawar, and Kekdi.

More than water between MP and Maharashtra

The two states have not only signed an MoU for the Tapi water recharge project but also arrived at a preliminary consensus on other water dispute issues like construction of the Dangurli Barrage on the Banganga River, a weir on the Bagh River, and the Lavaghoghari-Totladoh Water Exchange Plan.

While further discussions on these projects will be held in the meeting of interstate board in October 2025, MP and Maharashtra also decided to work together for cultural preservation, boosting trade and developing a religious tourism circuit including five Jyotirlingas.

This circuit will link Maharashtra's three Jyotirlingas: Shri Trimbakeshwar, Shri Bhimashankar, and Shri Grishneshwar and MP's two Jyotirlingas: Shri Mahakaleshwar and Shri Omkareshwar, providing better connectivity and ease of travel to the pilgrims.

Apart from Jyotirlingas, common Maratha heritage also connects the two states. For this, they will make preservation efforts to compile and digitise histories of warriors like Bajirao Peshwa, the Holkars, Shindes (Scindias), Tatya Tope, Rani Lakshmi Bai, and Appaji Bhonsle.

MP uses Maharashtra's ports extensively to export its pharmaceuticals, textiles, and agricultural products. To facilitate this, a dedicated export facilitation cell at Maharashtra’s ports and a dedicated freight corridor between Jabalpur and Nagpur is also planned.

MP's power sharing agreements

Apart from water sharing, MP has signed multiple power-sharing agreements with its neighbours UP and Chhattisgarh in 2025 alone.

The most unique of them is a 2,000 MW solar park, approved by the MP Cabinet in April end. What's unique is that it will provide electricity to UP and MP for six months in year, alternatively.

This arrangement could be reached because the peak demand periods of the two states occur at different times of the year. For instance, MP requires more power between October and March for Rabi crop cultivation, while UP requires more power during the Kharif season.

"Under this arrangement, the project will provide power to each state for six months annually, ensuring efficient utilisation of resources and enhanced energy security for both regions," an official in the MP Public Relations department told Swarajya.

Along with a 2,000 MW solar park, a 1,000 MW composite energy storage will also be established. While the official announcement does not reveal the location of this plant, media reports say that it is likely to come up in Morena.

Again, this was a project conceptualised years ago but due to a lack of inter-state consenus, a power-sharing agreement could not be reached between UP and MP, until the BJP CMs of both states showed keenness.

A similar agreement was reached between MP and Chhattisgarh in May end, according to which Chhattisgarh will provide its 400 KV tower designs to MP and in return, receive 220 KV and 132 KV tower designs from MP.

It will help in reducing land use for transmission towers, which was much needed in forested or tribal areas. The first official agreement between two state utilities to share design templates will reduce duplication of effort and costs.

Narmada river cruise tourism

A tripartite MoU was signed in April 2024 between MP Tourism Board (MPTB), Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) and the Gujarat government to start cruise tourism on the Narmada River.

The plan is to operate cruise tourism services from Ekatma Dham (Statue of Oneness) located at Omkareshwar in MP to the Statue of Unity at Kevadiya in Gujarat along a 120-km route in the Narmada river.

The MPTB has already invited bids for operating the cruise expedition, which will include four river terminals, two located at Kukshi and Sakarja in MP’s Alirajpur district, and two at Hanfeshwar and Mokhadi in Gujarat.

The IWAI is set to provide floating jetties, also known as pontoons, which are used in cruise tourism for boat landings, to both states. A pontoon from Kolkata has already arrived in MP's Kukshi.

Maheshwar, Mandleshwar and Mandu will act as stops, allowing tourists to board or deboard at these places of historical and cultural importance, thus boosting tourism along the cruise route.

Inspired from the initiative, another BJP-ruled state, Maharashtra also announced plans for river cruise on Narmada, in collaboration with Gujarat. However, concrete steps are yet to be taken to kickstart the project.

Project Cheetah crossing MP's boundaries

With the success of Project Cheetah in the Kuno National Park, MP is set to assist its neighbouring states, especially Rajasthan and Gujarat, in expanding cheetah spaces across states.

The cheetah count has reached 31 from the 20 cheetahs brought from abroad and hence, they need more space, being territory-marking animals. Two have already been shifted to Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary.

However, the broader plan is to have a cheetah corridor between Kuno and Gandhi Sagar over a span of 17,000 km² to allow cheetahs to roam freely in a protected and connected habitat.

Of the 17,000 km², 6,500 km² area will be in Rajasthan, covering seven districts: Kota, Bundi, Baran, Jhalawar, Sawai Madhopur, Karauli, and Chittorgarh, and 10,500 km² in MP.

The discussions regarding this have already happened between MP CM Yadav and Rajasthan CM Bhajan Lal Sharma and the discussions between the forest departments are ongoing, with an MoU set to be signed soon.

Apart from this, as per PM Modi's announcement at the National Board of Wildlife meeting in March, the cheetahs will also find a habitat in Banni Grasslands in Gujarat. However, there is no update on this plan since then.

Nonetheless, we are seeing that MP is becoming a leader in cooperative federalism with MoUs with all its neighbours: UP, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh, in sectors ranging from water-sharing and power-sharing to trade, tourism and environmental issues.

This could be only seen after Dr Mohan Yadav became CM in MP and MP's neighbouring states elected BJP governments in 2023 after wins in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan and BJP getting a CM of its own in Maharashtra in 2024.