We have it on Arundhati s supreme authority that only half the SSP command can be irrigated for lack of water. And that half, she suspects, will not be the tail-end in distant Saurashtra and Kutch. No afterthought that. Arundhati laughs at the inclusion of 236 uninhabited villages. Lack of water has compelled migration from Kutch and provision of water supply could bring deserted villages back to life.
Every project looks at several options before the final parameters are frozen.
Perhaps Hoollock Gibbons do things differently. The master plan prepared by the Gujarat Water Supply and Sewerage Board caters to 8,215 villages and 135 urban centres in Saurashtra, Gujarat and Kutch. This will cover a population of 20 million rising to 30 million or more over the next 30 years. Work has commenced. Yes, this will be a separate project, separately funded, to construct an elaborate pipeline and delivery network.