Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said that Haryana would give Delhi its share of water, but added that it is not practical to provide water to Delhi by ignoring the interests of farmers and citizens of Haryana.
The Chief Minister was speaking at the meeting of Upper Yamuna Review Committee held under the Chairmanship of Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Uma Bharati at New Delhi on Friday.
He said that keeping in view the increasing population of Delhi, more water would be required in future but it is not justifiable to expect only from Haryana to meet the water demand of Delhi. All States should contribute in supply of water to Delhi, he added.
The Chief Minister said that the farmers of Yamunanagar and Karnal districts got information that Uttar Pradesh was constructing Tabar Dam which would breach the banks of Yamuna in Haryana.
The construction of dam was not under rules and hence its construction should be banned. It was decided at the meeting that a meeting of Chief Secretaries of both the States would be convened and till then UP government should stop the construction of this dam.
He said that the Central Government should urge the Supreme Court for an early hearing in the Satluj Yamuna Link (SYL) canal case.
In reference to the construction of SYL canal, Mr. Khattar said that it was the life line of Haryana.
He urged the Central Government for Presidential Reference for this case which has been lying pending for the last ten years.
He said that Haryana should be given pending amount of Rs.106 crore for the construction of the canal from Munak to Delhi by the Delhi Government. Apart from this, Delhi Government should give pending amount of Rs.87.3 crore for the maintenance of the same canal.
It was also decided in the meeting to constitute a joint monitoring committee for regulation and monitoring of inter- State rivers and decision of these matters should not be left on the States. Mr. Khattar invited the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to visit Haryana. On which he gave his consent to visit Haryana in the first week of April.
Haryana Irrigation Minister O.P. Dhankar and Chief Secretary D.S Dhesi were also present in the meeting.
