Union Minister for Water Resources Uma Bharti inspecting the Hathinikund barrage at district Yamunanagar on Monday. Haryana Agriculture Minister, Mr. OP Dhankhar is also seen in the picture.
Chandigarh, May 25, 2015: Union Water Resources Minister, Ms Uma Bharti said that the government wants to develop Yamuna river in such a way that farmers get adequate water for irrigation purposes and there is continues flow of water in the river. The percentage of share of water should not get affected in Haryana and Delhi, she added.
The Union Minister was interacting with media persons at Hathnikund Barrage in district Yamunanagar today.
She said that development is possible without causing any damage to the rivers. Purification of all drains falling into Yamuna river would be done so as to make Yamuna neat and clean.
She said that work is under process on seven schemes to connect rivers of the country which included Dabang Ganga, Pinjal, Pratapi, Narmada, Ken-Betwa, Pancheshwar Parvati, Kali Singh etc. Out of these, the project of Ken-Betwa has already been passed in the Union Cabinet.
She said that the government led by Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi has for the first time constituted a River Development Board for conservation of rivers and a plan has been formulated for purification of Yamuna river alongwith the Ganga. She said that reduced level of water in Yamuna river is our main concern. She said that we would have to combine all schemes by keeping in view the interests of all sections of the society. This includes three schemes of farmers, drinking water and continuous flow of water in the rivers.
She said that Yamuna Action Plan has been started at two phases for maintaining the purity of Yamuna river and she herself has been visiting the Yamuna area to accelerate the pace of work. She asked officers about drains falling in Yamuna river and directed them to start a special campaign to save the river from pollution. “Either close all the drains completely or put the water in the river only after purifying it”, she added.
The Minister said that all rivers like Saraswati-Yamuna-Ganga are not only linked with people on religious grounds, but our economic development is also linked with them. Talking about Saraswati river, she said that if we are able to trace the complete route of Saraswati river then it would open new dimensions of economic growth and there would be new water resources in Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat. She said that the Central Government would extend complete cooperation in this regard. She said that Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat had constituted a team with Underground Water Board alongwith ISRO team to trace the passage of Saraswati river in which Haryana had done commendable job.
She said that in order to increase the flow of water in Yamuna river, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand have jointly and Uttarakhand has also individually presented proposal for setting up bridges. Apart from this, Haryana Chief Minister, Mr. Manohar Lal has proposed storage of rain water on the vacant land falling between Yamuna river and canal which would help in meeting shortage of water during non-monsoon season. This would provide water to Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi as per their need, she added.
Later on during her visit to Panipat, the Minister assured that the Union Ministry would soon release the grant to accelerate the pace of construction of Sewerage Treatment Plant in Sector 29, Panipat so as to purify the sewage water of the city and then put it into Yamuna river. Its construction work would not halt due to dearth of funds.She said that purification of rivers of the country is the priority of the government, therefore, she has been visiting various places to check the purity of water in rivers.
The Minister was informed that the work of Rs 129 crore under construction Sewerage Treatment Plant project at Sector 29 is pending due to lack of funds as this year’s instalment of Rs 62 crore has not been released whereas payment of Rs 27 crore is already pending. With the release of grant from the Central Government, the project would complete by October 31, 2015.
Haryana Agriculture and Irrigation Minister, Mr. O.P. Dhankar also spoke on this occasion. / (SK Vyas, Jalandhar)
Date:
Monday, May 25, 2015