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‘No solution’: Haryana CM Khattar on Kejriwal’s request for more water for Delhi
‘Haryana is providing water to Delhi under the fixed quota and there is no difficulty in it but if Delhi state uses its allotted quota of water on other means, then there is no solution for it’ said Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar
Reacting to Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s appeal to provide more water to the city, his Haryana counterpart Manohar Lal Khattar on Saturday said that his state was already providing water to Delhi under the fixed quota and it was facing a shortage of water as the need increases during the summer season.
“Haryana is providing water to Delhi under the fixed quota and there is no difficulty in it but if Delhi state uses its allotted quota of water on other means, then there is no solution for it”, he said when asked about Kejriwal’s request during his visit to Panchanand Smark at Kurukshetra’s Masana village.
Kejriwal on Friday appealed to Haryana to release additional water into the Yamuna “on humanitarian grounds”, even as the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) said the supply in the city is down by more than 100 MGD (million gallons per day), severely impacting a large number of neighbourhoods and colonies.
Khattar said that Haryana was already facing shortage of water as the need increases during the summer season and it was difficult to provide water to several parts of the state. “But I feel that the situation will improve after the arrival of monsoon,” he added.
Haryana has consistently maintained that it is releasing adequate water to Delhi as per existing agreements. Khattar on May 20 said that his state is currently releasing more than 1,049 cusecs of water to Delhi. “We can’t deprive our state of water and give Delhi more than its legitimate share. I promise that the day Punjab gives us our legitimate share, Haryana will increase Delhi’s water share,” he had said.
Kejriwal had discussed Delhi’s water crisis in his meeting with lieutenant-governor VK Saxena on Friday. Kejriwal said, “We do not want to get into the issue of whether adequate water is being released (as per agreements). Provide us with water to meet our needs on a humanitarian basis. We have to see just how much water is needed by Delhi and how much can be provided by our neighbours.”
LG’s office also issued a statement saying: “The L-G has assured the CM that he would take up the issue at all appropriate levels to address it in the interim. It was also decided that a meeting of all concerned departments will be held in presence of the L-G and the chief minister on Tuesday, June 14, 2022, wherein the officers will be asked to present their concrete plans.”
