RAS question
ERCP primarily benefits which region of Rajasthan?
Correct answer: (A) Eastern Rajasthan.
The Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project primarily benefits eastern Rajasthan by supplying water to 13 districts through surplus monsoon water from the Chambal basin.
Explanation
ERCP is aimed at eastern Rajasthan because the official PIB release describes it as transferring surplus monsoon water within the Chambal basin into water-deficit sub-basins to serve 13 districts of eastern Rajasthan. The mechanism matters: water available in Kalisindh, Parvati, Mej and Chakan sub-basins is to be diverted towards Banas, Gambhiri, Banganga and Parbati sub-basins. That target region makes eastern Rajasthan the correct choice, not merely the project's name. The benefit is also not limited to drinking water; PIB states that the project envisages irrigation in about 2.82 lakh hectare area. For an RAS question, the core recall is that ERCP is an eastern Rajasthan water-supply and irrigation intervention using surplus monsoon water from the Chambal system.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) Western Rajasthan is not the primary ERCP target; it is associated with IGNP, while ERCP is framed around 13 districts of eastern Rajasthan.
- (C) Southern Rajasthan is not the primary beneficiary because it is part of the source-side context, while the benefit is directed to eastern Rajasthan.
- (D) Northern Rajasthan is not the primary target because the PIB release identifies eastern Rajasthan as the region served by ERCP.
Concept
This tests Rajasthan economy and infrastructure: major irrigation and drinking-water projects, especially their target regions. ERCP recurs in RAS because it links regional water scarcity, Chambal-basin transfers and eastern Rajasthan's development needs.