‘Not a natural calamity’: Delhi, Haryana continue to clash over Hathnikund water

While the AAP-led Delhi govt allege releasing of water towards the Capital a ‘calculated plan’, the Haryana govt accused them of evading responsibilities.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday reiterated its allegations that the flooding of the Yamuna in Delhi was not a natural calamity, but was caused by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Haryana government releasing water from the Hathnikund barrage only towards the Capital, instead of releasing water equitably into other canals.

Between July 9 and 13, the amount of water released by the barrage varied between 9,300 and 359,000 cusecs.(Rahul Singh)

The Haryana government hit back, calling the allegations baseless, accusing the AAP-led Delhi government of evading its responsibilities, and noting that the barrage releases water according to established guidelines, and is not arbitrarily done.

To be sure, according to the guidelines that monitor the release of water at Hathnikund, if the flow of water exceeds 100,000 cusecs, there will be no flow into the western and eastern canals and the entire water is to be discharged into the main Yamuna as two canals cannot withhold the high flow of water, Haryana government officials said.

Between July 9 and 13, the amount of water released by the barrage varied between 9,300 and 359,000 cusecs.

Speaking at a press conference, AAP Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh claimed that the flooding of Delhi was a “calculated plan”.

“The flooding of Delhi was a calculated plan... This is not a natural calamity but a manufactured crisis inflicted upon Delhi… There has been no rainfall in Delhi over the past 6 days, yet the Yamuna river has exceeded its danger mark, breaking historical records,” Singh said.

The Rajya Sabha MP had made similar allegations on Friday.

“From July 9 to 13, no water was released into the eastern and western canals, according to the logsheet of the Hathnikund barrage. Instead, all the water was deliberately directed into Delhi. Members of the AAP raised their concerns about these malicious actions. Eventually, on July 13, water was released through the western canal, and on the following day, the eastern canal started receiving water as well,” he added.

Speaking at a separate event, irrigation and flood control (I&FC) department minister Saurabh Bharadwaj alleged that when AAP raised the issue of the barrage, water was released in the eastern canal, bypassing all norms of the Central Water Commission.

“Even after releasing 400,000 cusecs of water on August 10-11, 2022, the Yamuna did not reach the danger mark, because the water was released in the canals and Yamuna stream simultaneously,” he alleged. “This time, 350,000 cusecs of water was released only towards Delhi, due to which the water level of Yamuna went three metres above the danger mark.”

Denying the allegations, Haryana agriculture minister JP Dalal accused the Delhi government of evading its responsibilities. “They are evading their responsibilities… Encroachments have taken place along the Yamuna, and the river has shrunk. Illegal encroachment on the Yamuna are the main reason behind the flooding in Delhi,” he said.

Haryana home minister Anil Vij said, “In our state too, water came from Himachal Pradesh and Punjab but we are not blaming anyone. We are trying to make arrangements and improve the situation. All the villages and cities on the bank of Yamuna received a similar amount of water.”