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Amarinder Singh presses for all-party meet on water crisis chaired by PM
Punjab CM Amarinder Singh said water is a national problem which needs to be discussed and resolved at national level.
Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Monday suggested an all-party meeting chaired by the Prime Minister to evolve a consensus and formulate a national strategy for tackling the deteriorating water situation in the country.
He made the suggestion during a courtesy call on Jal Shakti minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in New Delhi.
Water is a national problem which needs to be discussed and resolved at national level, Amarinder said.
The all-party meetings could be held region-wise to make the process more streamlined and effective, with the PM chairing each of them, said Amarinder, adding that meetings would help develop consensus on steps needed to save the natural resource.
In response to a media query, the CM said the Satluj-Yamuna Link canal issue was not discussed during his meeting with the Union Minister as it was sub-judice.
He also said that the problem of Buddha Nallah in Ludhiana came up for discussion and he assured Shekhawat that work was in progress to clean it. The state government had set a two-year deadline for the task, he added.
Amarinder said that he told Shekhawat that sewage treatment plants were being operationalised to ensure that the Buddha Nallah is not further messed up by the affluent from various industries, especially the dyeing industry.
Pointing out that 85% water goes into irrigation, said if 10% of this could be saved, India’s water crisis could be solved for the next 50 years, the CM suggested.
Punjab, he said, could take the lead in this campaign, with incentives playing a major role in encouraging people to save water.
The state government was planning to launch a major programme of groundwater recharging by using defunct tubewells, he added.
He said that Shekhawat had asked Punjab to reduce the area under paddy cultivation, and in response, he had stressed the need for the central government to support purchase of alternative crops such as maize on the minimum support price.
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